Something Was Missing, I Never Quite Knew
by Silvermissstt
Summary: Grace Farrell has had her eyes set on Oliver Warbucks since the day she began to work as his private secretary, but now that a certain redhead has shown up, everything begins to change and the two are unable to keep their feelings for one another quiet much longer. Now that they have confessed their love, can they start their lives together or will demons from the past prevent it?
1. Chapter 1

The large grandfather clock in the corner of the room struck five o'clock in the morning and Oliver Warbucks sighed, seeing the likelihood of sleeping that night growing slimmer and slimmer.

It had been a busy night, what with speaking to the police about Annie's kidnapping, making sure she fell asleep alright and then staring at the adoption papers in front of him all night.

He loved Annie, with every ounce of his heart. He wanted nothing more than to have her be his daughter, but he had been second guessing that decision all night long. Annie was a special little girl and she deserved the very best of everything: the best family, the best clothes, the best home, and Oliver was worried he wasn't enough for her.

He had closed his heart off ever since he was just eleven years old, ever since his younger brother had died from pneumonia. The day that he had died was the hardest day that Oliver had ever had to endure and he swore from that moment on he would never love anyone again for as long as he lived, and up until just a week ago that plan had worked perfectly, right until Annie showed up. The little orphan was so happy-go-lucky and had made Oliver turn around and take a look at what his life had been up until that moment. What he saw, he didn't exactly like.

He had been living a life that was solely business, he had no ties to anyone romantically or otherwise. He had no friends. He was a bitter businessman and he would have been lying if he said the past week with Annie didn't make him feel lighter all around. He didn't want to let that go, he didn't want to let Annie go.

But Annie deserved someone who would reciprocate her love just as much, if not more. He couldn't do that. This love thing was hard for him, he'd never had to show it before. He left home at just eleven years old.

He had no idea what it was like to have a functioning family before, either. His father had been an abusive alcoholic and his mother a neglectful mess. He had three siblings, his dead brother, and then an older brother and sister, twins. But they had never been very close to Oliver. Only he and his younger brother were close and when he left home, he cut off all contact with the remainder of his family. He had no idea where they were or even if they were all alive still.

Earlier that night when Annie was dangling from that bridge, Oliver had experienced a panic he could imagine only parents felt when their child was in danger or hurt. His whole body began shaking with nerves and he felt absolutely helpless. He knew that if Annie got seriously injured, or even worse, died, he would never be able to recover again, never be able to go on. When Annie was returned to him and Grace, he hugged her tighter than he remembered ever hugging anyone before. It was in that moment he knew Annie belonged with him, for better or for worse.

Or course, that didn't stop him from wondering if that was truly what Annie needed and that was why he hadn't been able to sleep the whole night.

He sighed again and uncapped his pen, signing the adoption papers. He deserved love, too, didn't he? Annie loved him even though he had shown her his bitter side. She could keep teaching him, he needed her more than she did him. He smiled at the papers before deciding to head up to his room and attempt to get a couple hours of rest before Annie awoke. He had a feeling the next day was going to be tiring, too, but this time in a good way.

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><p>Oliver awoke around eight thirty to the chattering of little girls in the hallway. He smiled, remembering that Annie's orphan friends had spent the night after trekking all the way from the orphanage to the mansion. He quickly got dressed and went downstairs to find seven chattering girls sitting down in the dining room, passing platters of food around the table.<p>

Annie smiled when she saw Oliver walk into the dining room and jumped up to hug him. "Mr. Warbucks! Come meet all my friends!" She exclaimed excitedly

Oliver hugged his soon-to-be daughter and smiled. "I would love to meet them, Annie."

The orphans stopped chattering and looked up to Oliver when they heard his booming voice. Annie smiled again and began to introduce her friends.

"Mr. Warbucks, this is Molly and Pepper and Tessie and Duffy and July and Kate." Annie replied, gesturing to each of her friends as she said their names.

The girls each waved to Oliver and promptly went back to serving themselves breakfast. Grace came out of the kitchen, carrying a glass pitcher of milk and setting it down on the dining room table.

"Good morning, sir," she greeted when she saw Oliver and he smiled.

"Good morning, Miss Farrell. I trust you slept well?" He said and she nodded.

"Yes, I did. Last night exhausted me. Did you?"

"Didn't sleep very much, but for the little bit that I did, yes," he replied and Grace smiled as she sat herself down next to Annie, a little confused about Oliver's intentions with her. The other day, on the terrace during breakfast, Grace would've sworn he was interested in her, but now she was wondering if that was foolish.

He had told her to call him Oliver, that day, but this morning she decided to let him make the first move and he hadn't. What was that supposed to mean to her? Was he just being nice that day, because of Annie, or was she simply being a fool?

She'd been his secretary for five years and she was interested in him from the minute that he hired her, but it had been easy keeping that a secret as long as he didn't reciprocate it in any way. But then he had complimented her that morning and she was, not exactly confused, but conflicted. She liked him, a lot, and she wanted to be with him, but she couldn't jeopardize Annie's future in doing that. Of course she loved Annie as if she were her own, but the plain truth of the matter was that Annie wasn't hers. She was Oliver's, no she was Mr. Warbucks', and she needed to respect whatever he wanted, even if it wasn't what she had in mind.

She sighed and decided to stop letting her mind get to her and instead focus on Oliver and the orphans. They all seemed to be in awe of the fact that they were sitting at a table with Oliver Warbucks and began to ask him countless questions, all of which he took to heartily. Oliver was currently rehashing a story about his trip to Italy a few years back and all the girls listened to the story as if their lives were depending on it, which Grace found rather adorable. They were all so well-mannered and polite, she had noticed. They all said "please" and "thank you" and treated Oliver, Grace, and the mansion staff with respect, which was a bit surprising given the fact that at least half of them were raised in the orphanage. She didn't know how she was going to be able to send them all back to the cold, dirty, orphanage later on that day. They deserved homes and love just as much as Annie and she couldn't bear to see them go back to their dull and dreary lives. She'd have to talk to Mr. Warbucks about that.

Once he finished telling his Italy story, the girls ran off to play in the gardens. Once they left, Oliver looked to Grace.

"Miss Farrell, I've signed Annie's adoption papers. I'm going to drive them the Board of Orphans later on today to get the finalisation of her adoption done as soon as possible."

Grace broke out into a smile. "Oh, Mr. Warbucks, that's wonderful! I'm sure she'll be thrilled to hear that,"

She was genuinely happy to hear this news. Annie had changed her life so much, ever since she saw her in the orphanage office only a week ago. That little girl had brought so much laughter and joy into the mansion, two words Grace would never have associated with Oliver before now. Grace couldn't imagine living without her anymore. The night before on the bridge, seeing Annie dangling high up, was one of the worst feelings of terror she'd ever felt. Even now, just thinking about it, she shuddered at the thought,"

"Yes, I hope so." Oliver replied, shaking her out of her thoughts. "I was thinking that since tomorrow is the Fourth of July, that maybe we could have a party celebrating both that and her adoption. Do you think you could plan it in time?" He asked and Grace nodded, disappointed that he wasn't asking to talk about anything else.

"Yes, sir. I can most certainly do that," she replied, rising from her seat and going upstairs to begin making phone calls for the party.

Oliver sighed as he watched her walk up the stairs. He knew that he had been giving her mixed signals about the two of them the past few days and he wished he knew what he wanted. Grace was smart, beautiful, kind, and gentle and he was beginning to see her as more than just his secretary. She loved Annie more than he had seen anyone love anyone before and she would make an amazing wife and mother. He didn't know what she thought of him, though, and even if she did feel the same way, she could have so many people that were so much better suited for her. He was an old, bitter business man who had spent more than half his life being a robot with barely any feelings. Grace deserved so much better. She deserved someone who was as young as she and she deserved someone who could love her unconditionally without having to hold back and worry about the pain love might cause. He couldn't do that, at least not now. He still had to learn to weave his way through Annie's heart first.

He sighed and called for Mrs. Pugh to pour him another cup of coffee as he thought about what he wanted to do about him, Grace, and Annie. He loved both of them, that much was certain, but unlike Annie, Grace didn't exactly need him. She was his secretary, why would she want to be with him, anyway? He didn't exactly have any redeeming qualities. He sighed. Grace was his secretary and that was all she was ever going to be, he decided. It was too tricky to try and become more, even if that was what he wanted more than anything. God forbid anything begin between the two of them and then not work out, he couldn't put Annie through that. Not now. Not ever.

Over on the other side of the house, Grace was sitting in Oliver's office, having just made a phone call reservation for the party. She sighed when she hung up, still feeling conflicted about her relationship with Mr. Warbucks. She had no idea what to do. She knew that she loved him and she knew that she loved Annie, but she didn't want to make things for Annie difficult with settling into her new life. Annie needed stability now more than anything else and Grace knew that she just had to bite her tongue and let whatever was going to happen, happen.

She was just glad that she now had Annie's adoption party to plan. It was giving her a much needed break from everything with Mr. Warbucks.

Everything was coming along quite nicely already. She had hired a caterer and a fireworks professional, along with a private circus and a lighting crew. Luckily, everything she wanted to book was available the next day. The hard part was over, she just needed to whip up a guest list. She looked through Oliver's contact book before deciding to just invite everyone on it, knowing that a good number would probably show up. Sometimes it surprised her how fast she could get things done.

Once she finished, she went out onto the terrace, watching Annie play with her friends. She smiled, hearing their giggles and chattering, knowing that this was a very rare treat for them, being able to just be children and play. She had been told what it was like for the girls in the orphanage and she knew that everything was run under strict rules and that playing was almost like a crime. She dat down on the terrace and watched them, content to know that they were happy for once. If Annie and her friends were happy, then what she wanted to happen between her and Mr. Warbucks didn't matter.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day went along without much event. The girls spent the majority of it playing together while Grace finished finalizing the details for Annie's party. Oliver spent a good amount of the day with Annie and her friends, even going for a mid afternoon swim with them. Grace didn't know if Oliver was intentionally avoiding her or he was just been very focused on Annie, but she hadn't seen him since that morning when he asked her to plan the party. It was frustrating to her. She didn't know how to act, was he Oliver or Mr. Warbucks? Did she need to speak in a professional manner or not? It was a bit tiring, to be completely honest and a little inconvenient as well. Before Annie had come to the mansion and before that morning on the terrace, everything had a certain protocol and it was unheard of, and possibly even a bit rude to go against it. Oliver was either Mr. Warbucks or Sir to her and she was Miss Farrell. They had no say in the other's personal lives.<p>

Now everything was different. He had called her Grace, more than once and was acting much less to-the-point with her than he was with the rest of the staff. She had no idea how to read into it, or even if she needed to at all. It could simply just be his love for Annie overwhelming him and spilling out onto his mood.

She sighed as she watched the girls run around. When had things gotten so complicated and when was it going to all be over?

Mrs. Pugh came outside and smiled at Grace when she saw her. "Dinner is ready, Miss Farrell," the jolly cook announced and Grace let out a sigh of relief. At least now her mind would be so distracted with paying attention to the girls that Oliver wouldn't even cross her mind.

She called the girls up to the terrace and took them inside to wash off for dinner. Their excitement and chatter seemed to be just what Grace needed, it just overwhelmed her and soon she was laughing right along with them. They went to the dining room once they had washed off and found Mr. Warbucks already seated at the table. They sat down around the table and continued their chatter, making both her and Oliver laugh at their conversations.

The dinner itself was noisy and filled with chatter, something a mere few weeks ago Grace couldn't ever see happening in the Warbucks Mansion, especially not with children around the table.

The girls were once again dominating the conversation, asking Oliver countless questions and having him recount stories. Grace was just as intrigued as they were to her about him, but she noticed that he was either purposefully avoiding making eye contact or he was just very focused on the conversation. She knew that she needed to stop obsessing over her relationship with Oliver, but it was not an easy task to achieve.

Once the girls had finished their dinner, Grace sent them upstairs to prepare themselves for bed while she and Oliver sat at the table, sipping tea and brandy respectively.

"How are things for the party coming along, Miss Farrell?" Oliver asked and Grace smiled.

"Very well, sir. Set-up is set to begin around one and the party is to begin around four. Is that all right?" She asked and he nodded.

"Thank you very much, Miss Farrell. I appreciate everything greatly,"

Grace blushed at the compliment and quickly got up from the table before Oliver noticed. "I'm just going to go on and tuck the girls in," she replied and the man nodded.

Upstairs, she found five of the six orphans in the guest room next to Annie's, all crowded in the king sized bed, making sure not to take up too much space. Grace smiled when she saw them and leaned down to kiss each one of them on the forehead individually.

"Goodnight, girls," she whispered, "Sleep well."

The girls smiled back at her and settled down in the bed. Grace watched them fall asleep through a creak in the door before going next door to Annie's bedroom. Annie was awake in bed, reading one of the books that Grace had gotten her just days before, as the littlest of the orphans, Molly, was sprawled out across the bed next to her, sound asleep. Grace smiled at the little girl. She had been told more than once before how special Molly was to Annie and how much the younger of the two girls looked up to her. She was glad to see the two at so much ease.

Annie looked up when she heard the door lightly close. "She wanted to sleep here, with me. She always does," the redhead explained when she caught Grace staring at Molly with a smile.

"That's perfectly fine, Annie, just as long as you don't mind,"

"Of course I don't." Annie put her book face down on the nightstand as Grace came over and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, Annie. Sweet dreams,"

"Goodnight, Miss Farrell." Annie replied as she hugged Grace. Grace patted her head and shut off the light, leaving the room.

She sighed as she leaned up against the wall. It had been a long day and she was almost ready for bed herself, but she knew that unless she solved everything with Oliver that she wouldn't be able to rest. She slowly walked towards her room and sat down on her bed for awhile, thinking what exactly it was she wanted to say. She knew that she loved Oliver, those words had been running through her head all day, and she didn't know how she would move on if he didn't feel the same way.

Grace suddenly got up, deciding to take this moment of courage before it got away. She walked down the hall and downstairs, right to Oliver's door. Her mind immediately began racing again, wondering if what she was doing was completely and totally idiotic. She sighed, pushed those thoughts out of her head, and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Oliver called out and Grace timidly came in. He smiled when he saw her.

"Ah, Miss Farrell. What can I do for you tonight?" He asked. Grace sat down in the chair across from his desk, feeling like this was more of s business arrangement than a confession of love already.

"I-I actually wanted to speak about something personal between the two of us," she replied and Oliver's eyes widened, clearly showing that he wasn't prepared for this.

"Yes? Is everything all right?" He asked.

Grace sighed. 'I think so, Oliver, but I'm not sure. I hope you don't think I'm overstepping my boundaries here, but I was wondering where we stood as far as our relationship goes. The other morning on the balcony seemed like something was budding between us, but then all of today we were back to business. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable about all of this, but I need to know. I can't keep wondering," she said and Oliver put down the document in his hand, sighing and not in the slightest ready to have this conversation.

"Grace, I-I think you're an extraordinary woman who will make some lucky man very happy one day, but I don't see that man being me. Believe me, I want nothing more than that, but I'm far too old for you, and I'm sure I'm not what you're looking for. You deserve someone younger, wiser, and someone who can love you as much as you deserve to be." He replied, speaking as if he had made up his mind already and was just confirming exactly how he felt.

"But what if what I want is you? What if that's exactly what I'm looking for?"

Oliver signed. "Grace, how could you possibly want someone so old and so bitter?"

Grace smiled. "You can't be that old, Oliver and you were bitter. You aren't anymore. You deserve love just as much as I do and just as much as Annie does."

Oliver was silent for a couple minutes, mulling over what she had just said. "But, Grace, you don't deserve me. I don't deserve you, actually. You're amazing. You're young and smart and talented. You could have any man you want. Why choose me?"

Grace smiled. "Because I love you, Oliver and only you. I could have the president if I tried hard enough, but I wouldn't be happy with him. It's you I love,"

Oliver looked startled at this statement. "But why?"

Grace sighed. "That's the funny thing about love, I suppose. Maybe it doesn't make sense why I love you and why I want you so badly, but I just have a feeling in my gut that this is right for the both of us. I can't ignore it,"

Oliver smiled. "You know, if you had told me any of this just a week ago, I would've that you were insane, but now I can understand a little why you feel like this. I feel the same way for Annie, and I know that I am starting to feel that way for you., but I need to do what's best for all three of us. Not just you and I. Annie needs someone constant in her life, someone she can count on. I need to think this over,"

Grace opened her mouth to reply, but was suddenly interrupted by what sounded like a little girl's scream of terror, which startled both her and Oliver. They exchanged glances and ran upstairs to where the girls were staying. They found Annie's bedroom door swung open, five little girls all standing in the doorway, looking the slightest irritated at the disruption of their sleep, but also concerned.

Annie was sitting up against the headboard with her arm draped around Molly, who had tears streaming down her cheeks. The older girl was whispering comforting words to the younger, who was clinging to a stuffed animal for dear life as she tried desperately to calm down.

Grace, upon seeing the scene, softly told the other five girls to go back to their bedroom and that she would handle everything before coming in and sitting down on the bed. Annie looked up when she felt the weight shift and immediately let out a sigh of relief.

"What happened, Annie?" Grace asked gently.

"Molly had a bad dream," Annie explained. "I think she was just more upset tonight because she didn't remember where she was sleeping," Molly nodded at this statement as she curled up in the redhead's embrace.

"Nightmares can be pretty upsetting," Grace replied, reaching out to take the crying girl's hand. "But it was only a dream, sweetheart. It can't hurt you," she reassured and the little girl smiled through her tears.

"It was my mama, Miss Farrell. She was here, in the mansion, and she was getting me dressed really pretty and then she left me back at the orphanage with Miss Hannigan and she beat me and nobody was there to save me," Molly recounted, beginning to work herself back up into sobs.

Annie gave a look of sympathy towards Grace and kissed Molly's forehead. "Shh, Molly. It's okay. It was just a dream. Miss Hannigan is far away from us now. She can't hurt us anymore and anyways, I'll always be here for you. I promise," the redhead soothed.

Molly smiled and leaned her head against Annie's chest as the older girl began to hum, lulling the little girl back into a state of rest within minutes. Annie smiled once Molly was asleep again and settled her down into the bed. Grace watched the redhead, who clearly had done this many times before, with a smile.

Grace rose up from the bed and leaned down to kiss Annie on the forehead. "Goodnight, Annie. Thank you for being such a great friend to Molly. She really looks up to you," Grace whispered.

"It's not a big deal to me, honestly. I've looked after her ever since she came to the orphanage two years ago, she's practically my little sister. I would do anything for her,"

Grace smiled and patted the little girl on her hand. "That's very sweet of you. I can tell that Molly trusts you a lot and I'm glad that she has a friend like you. It's getting late now, though. Why don't you get some rest?" she whispered, kissing her forehead.

Annie nodded, yawning. "Goodnight, Miss Farrell,"

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

Annie curled up on her side, bringing Molly into a tighter embrace as she slowly fell asleep. Grace smiled, watching her before stepping out into the hall, finding Oliver standing against the wall.

"Everything all taken care of?" He asked when he heard the door shut.

"Yes, both girls are back to sleep," she replied as they walked down the stairs. He smiled.

"I'm glad,"

Once they got back down to the office, Grace entered the office, ready to finish her conversation with Oliver and convince him once and for all that the two of them belonged together. She sat down in the chair she had been in previously and Oliver looked at her tiredly.

"Oliver, I-" Grace began but Oliver held up his hand, cutting her off.

"Miss Farrell, it's been a tiring day and I would like to have some time to think everything through. Can we talk tomorrow about this?" He asked, sounding absolutely exhausted and a bit curt.

Grace nodded, startled at his abrupt tone. She quickly left the office, trying hard to keep a cap on her emotions.

She knew it was silly, this whole thing with Oliver. How could she be so stupid, to pour out all these emotions onto him? How could she honestly think she had even the slightest bit of a chance with him, Oliver Warbucks, the richest man in the world? Of course he didn't love her. She was nothing but a mere secretary.

He must have only been trying to please her when he said he wanted nothing more than to be with her. But he had called her amazing. No man had ever said that to her. What did that mean?

As she climbed into her bed, Grace sighed. She just wanted to know what the next step was with Oliver and her and when things would return to normal. Was that so hard to ask?


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the great reviews so far! I'm glad that all of you who have reviewed have enjoyed shat I've written so far and I hope that you like what I have in mind for this! I am hoping to post at least once a week on Tuesdays, maybe on Saturdays given how much schoolwork I have. Enjoy the chapter!

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><p>The next morning, Grace awoke earlier than her usual eight AM. Looking at her alarm clock and seeing that it was nearly six, she sighed. She would never be able to fall back asleep now, it was already getting light outside. She picked up a book from her nightstand and began to read, already preparing to push her thoughts about Oliver out of her head. She needed to be professional today. She had Annie and her party to focus on, she couldn't preoccupy her mind with silly thoughts about...about what? Love? She knew she couldn't love Oliver, she knew it before she even talked to him the night before. It was stupid of her to even talk to him about her personal feelings.<p>

Grace, realising that she was beginning to get distracted, shook her head and put down her book. She got up, slipped her slippers and robe on before leaving the room to go take a short walk around the mansion. She peeked in on the girls before doing so and smiled, seeing all seven of them sleeping peacefully and with the innocence that a child should possess. She went out onto the terrace and the cold summer morning air hit her face. She walked around the gardens, looking at the newly planted roses and took notice of the fact that everything in the mansion seemed...livelier since Annie had come into their lives. She was so glad that Annie was here, even if she wasn't sure what she wanted or needed to do with Oliver yet. Something was bound to happen sooner or later, she was sure.

After what seemed like a very short time, but was actually over an hour and a half, one of the maids, Cecile, came out into the gardens to find Grace, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Miss Farrell, the girls are all awake and looking for you," Cecile, eyeing Grace's current apparel up and down, clearly disapproving of her. Grace looked down at herself and blushed. She was still in her robe and nightgown.

After she got over the initial shock of how her colleague had found her, she nodded quickly and did her best to regain her formal manner. "If you wouldn't mind telling them that I'll meet them for breakfast, that would be great," she replied briskly and absent-mindedly.

The maid nodded and they both went inside, Grace directly up the stairs and Cecile to the dining room. As Grace walked towards her suite, she prayed under her breath that Oliver not find her like this. She would have no idea how to explain herself if he saw her walking back to her suite clad in only her nightgown. It was bad enough Cecile had found her like that, she would be mortified if Oliver saw her so unprofessional looking.

Luckily, Grace made it to her suite without incident and as quick as possible, got herself ready for the day and downstairs to tend to the girls. They were sitting around the large table, stocking their plates as they chatted and giggled. Annie smiled when she saw Grace and ran to hug her.

"Good morning, Miss Farrell!' She exclaimed enthusiastically and Grace smiled at her happiness, tousling her hair.

"Good morning, Annie. How did you sleep?"

"I slept grand, Miss Farrell. Me and Molly, we both slept really good,"

At hearing the mention of her name, the little girl looked up and nodded, smiling at Grace and Annie before going back to her pancakes. Annie giggled at her and let Grace go as she sat down next to her young friend. Grace sat on the other side of Annie and began to serve herself just as Oliver came into the room. Annie ran to greet him much as she did Grace. Grace watched him, glad to see him genuinely happy and at ease with Annie. She knew that if anyone she knew needed happiness and peace, it was the two of them.

Oliver served himself and they all sat down to eat breakfast together, the scene looking and feeling a lot like it did the previous morning.

After breakfast, Grace had barely two minutes of peace before she was needed in order to prep for the party. Annie and the girls had been sent off with Cecile and Mrs. Greer to go shopping for new party dresses, for all of them. Their shabby orphanage clothes were falling apart and Grace wouldn't have them wear it even if it wasn't a party. They deserved better.

Grace was busy overseeing that the house was cleaned so that one could practically eat off the floor and that decorations and things were set up in appropriate places. It wasn't even midday and she was already exhausted.

Around lunchtime, Grace had a bit to herself and after she ate lunch, ran into Oliver as she was heading back towards her suite. He smiled when he saw her.

"Grace. You have impeccable timing. I was just coming to find you." He said, smiling that smile she had fallen in love with the first time she saw it.

"Yes, sir?" She asked, trying not to sound unprofessional.

"Yes, Oliver," he corrected. "I wanted to speak to you about...about well, us. I've been thinking a lot about what you said to me last night. I really want to clear some things up."

Grace looked up at him, seeing his eyes almost pleading and nodded. Oliver smiled and the two went downstairs to his office. Grace decided to sit on the sofa this time and Oliver sat across from her, clearly nervous.

"Grace, you know that you're amazing. I don't think I have to tell you or remind you of that and last night you told me something that's changed my entire life, believe it or not. You told me you loved me. I can't tell you how much that's stopped me in my tracks. Ever since Annie, well, I don't think I have to tell you I've been different. I've taken a lot of time to think about my life and I haven't been exactly a loving person. But, Grace," he stopped for a moment and Grace nodded at him, silently urging him to go on.

"Grace, I-I love you. I love you and I love Annie and I would be honoured if you would," he paused again, but this time, got up from his seat and knelt down on one knew in front of Grace, "if you would marry me, Grace." He finished, holding out a Tiffany's jewellery box. Grace gasped.

"Oh, Oliver," she said softly, not sure of what to say. He opened the box.

"It was my mother's. We didn't have many nice things, but my father worked for ten years to get her this ring, her wedding ring. I would like you to wear it to represent us,"

A tear slipped down Grace's cheek as she nodded quickly. "Of course," she replied and he smiled, slipping the ring onto her finger.

He got up and pulled Grace up with him, pulling her in for a soft kiss. "I love you, Grace Farrell." He whispered.

Grace smiled as she leaned in for another kiss. "And I, you, Oliver Warbucks."

Oliver smiled widely as they sat back down, Grace leaning her head against Oliver's chest. "When would you like to get married?" He asked.

Grace thought for a few seconds. "As soon as possible." She replied and Oliver chuckled.

"Sounds like a good idea. How about two weeks from tomorrow?"

"Perfect." Grace sighed in contentment. "Does Annie know?"

Oliver shook his head. "I thought it would be best for us to tell her together. It would mean more, coming from the both of us." He replied and Grace nodded, knowing exactly what he meant.

The two sat for a few minutes more before Grace got up suddenly. "I have to finish getting everything ready for the party. I'll see you when Annie gets back," she explained, kissing him once more before leaving the office.

As she walked towards the gardens, what had just happened finally hit her. She was, officially, the secretary turned fiancée of Oliver Warbucks. It sounded like a plot for a book, except for she was living it. How could things get any better?

The rest of the work she had to do seemed less tedious now and she began to sing lightly under her breath as she finished it all up.

The girls were back to the mansion by three and the maids immediately went to work on getting them dressed up for the party. Grace entered Annie's suite when she finished her work and was greeted by the chatting of little girls, each with their own ideas of what they wanted to look like for the party.

"Miss Farrell!" Annie exclaimed when she saw Grace, dressed in her new red dress. "I'm so excited for the party!" She said and Grace smiled, ruffling her hair.

"I'm glad, sweetheart. This night is for you to enjoy." Grace replied as July came up to them, twirling around in her new dress and beaming.

"This dress is so pretty, Miss Farrell!" The little girl exclaimed as she twirled more. Grace chucked.

"It sure is, July. And you look beautiful in it,"

July smiled and was about to reply just as Oliver walked into the room.

"Don't you girls look pretty," he commented as the rest of the girls filed in from the connected bathroom. Grace smiled as she crossed over to him and knelt down in front of Annie.

"Annie, your father and I have some very exciting news to share with you," the woman said and looked up to Oliver, who smiled.

"This morning, Annie, I asked Grace here to marry me and she said yes. She's going to be my wife,"

Annie's mouth dropped open. "Leaping lizards!" She exclaimed, "You're going to be my mom?!" She asked and Grace smiled at the redhead.

"It seems like it, yes." She replied, chuckling.

"Can I call you that? Can I call you mom?" She asked excitedly.

"I would like that very much, Annie." Grace brought the girl into a hug. "I would like that very much,"

Oliver looked at the two of them and smiled. When did his life become so perfect?

"Can we see the ring, Miss Farrell?" Kate asked and Grace smiled, nodding. She held out her left hand and all seven girls crowded around her, oohing and ahhing.

"It's really beautiful," Duffy breathed in wonderment.

"It was my mother's." Oliver said and Annie looked up to him.

"You've got good taste in rings, Daddy Warbucks!" She exclaimed and Grace and Oliver both chuckled at her observation.

"I'm glad you think so, Annie." Oliver replied as Grace got up from her seat on Annie's bed. She took Oliver's hand as she looked at the girls.

"You girls should finish getting ready. The party will be starting soon." She said and the girls nodded, following one another back into the bathroom. Grace and Oliver left, Oliver dropping his new fiancée off at her suite.

"I'll see you when the party begins," He said, kissing Grace lightly in the lips.

"What are we going to tell everyone? Should we announce our engagement tonight or would that overshadow Annie's adoption?" Grace asked worriedly.

"Grace, I want the world to know about us as soon as humanly possible. I'm sure Annie won't mind if we announce us tonight."

"You're probably right, I'm just worrying too much. I love you, Oliver."

"I love you, too, Grace."

Grace smiled as she watched her fiancée walk away and walked into her suite, beginning to get ready for the party. Forty minutes later, she was walking down the marble staircase with the seven girls, smiling when she saw Oliver at the foot of the staircase looking more handsome than she had ever seen anyone.

She finished her walk down the staircase and crossed over to Oliver who immediately put his arm around her waist, smiling. "You look absolutely stunning tonight,"

"Thank you. You look quite handsome," Grace said as she kissed his cheeks lightly. The girls looked up at them and giggled at their show of affection.

"Why don't you girls go outside and check out everything," Grace said to them and their faces lit up immediately as they ran outside, eager to get started with the party.

Grace and Oliver followed them slowly outside and saw all of Oliver's business patterns and their wives arriving steadily, Oliver smiled when he saw President and Mrs. Roosevelt and led Grace over to them.

"Oliver, how good to see you again," The president smiled widely, shaking Oliver's hand.

"Nice to see you tonight, President Roosevelt. I'd like you to meet my fiancée, Grace here."

The president's eyes widened at the word 'fiancee'. He had never pegged Oliver as the romantic type. "Fiancee? How wonderful! Congratulations, Oliver and congratulations, Grace," he said, shaking Grace's hand.

"Thank you, sir," Grace said as she blushed slightly, which Oliver found rather adorable of her.

The four of them chatted for a few minutes before Oliver took Grace around and introduced her to all the guests. He knew that marrying his fiancee would be frowned upon in today's society, but, quite frankly, he didn't care what others thought of him or Grace. All that mattered to him was that they were together and safe. That didn't stop him from getting a little angry at all the raised eyebrows he got when he introduced Grace as his fiancée. He had chosen to live in the public eye begrudgingly, but that didn't mean that Grace or Annie should have to deal with the media whiplash that was sure to come about.

This was one of the reasons he had chosen to live alone for so long. It was hard enough to love him as it was with his personality and his baggage, but with the added hassle of being criticised with his every move, simply because he was rich? That wasn't much reason for many to stick around. He'd had his try at dating and with every woman, it ended disastrously. He was simply happier being alone because at least then he knew that he was the only one being hurt.

He was worried about Annie having to deal with the media and the unwanted attention he had to deal with on a weekly basis. She has just gotten a loving home, she shouldn't have to worry about being followed and he'd be damned if he would let the reporters and paparazzi come in the way of her happiness. That went the same for Grace. He would stop at nothing to protect them.

After he had finished with the niceties, Oliver and Grace spent time talking with the more pleasing guests at the party and tending to the girls when need arose. Close to nine, he and Annie had a performance on the mansion steps which he gave a new locket to her at the end of.

"'To Annie with love'" Annie said as she read the inscription on the necklace. She looked up at Oliver."I love you, Daddy Warbucks," she said and he hugged her, smiling at the word "daddy" just as the first of the fireworks went off over the roof of the mansion.

As he stared up at the fireworks, one arm around his fiancée and the other around his new daughter, he smiled and realised just how lucky he was. It wasn't the money that mattered, it never was. It was the company he had, now and forevermore.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Grace was again up early, but this time it was because she was so eager to start her first day with her new family. She really still couldn't believe Oliver had come around and proposed to her, with his mother's wedding ring, no less. It all felt like a dream to her. For once, her life was going to be easy. She had grown up in poverty and had to get her first job at just thirteen, but now she was getting married to the richest man in the entire world, and now she had one thing to ask herself: how in the world did that even happen?<p>

She met Oliver out on the terrace for breakfast at seven thirty. He was already dressed in his suit for the day and Grace smiled widely when she saw him.

"Good morning, my dear," He said when he caught glimpse of her and kissed her lips gently.

"Good morning. How did you sleep?"

"Perfectly. And you?"

"About the same. Are the girls still asleep?"

Oliver nodded, chuckling. "I'm sure that they were up way past eleven, they had so much sugar last night. I expect they'll be asleep for a couple more hours,"

Grace smiled. "I'm glad they were able to enjoy themselves." She said wistfully, knowing that she was going to have to send them back to the orphanage later on that day. She had been hoping against hope that a few of Oliver's business partners would talk to them and consider adopting one or two, but to no avail.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" He asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"I really did. It was interesting to meet all the people you work with,"

"I'm sorry that all those women gave you such a hard time, just because you're my secretary. Now you know why I hate to socialise with them," he said bitterly and Grace chuckled.

"I don't care about those women, mean nothing to me. They're not important," she replied as she began eating her breakfast. Oliver stared at her, completely mesmorized at how beautiful she looked this morning in the sunlight.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, acutely becoming aware of him staring at her.

Oliver shook his head and let out a gruff laugh. "No, nothing's wrong. You just...you just look awfully pretty this morning," he replied and Grace smiled.

"Thank you."

"So I was thinking about our wedding last night, Grace, and I was wondering what you want for it," he replied and Grace looked up, surprised.

"Oh, well, Oliver I really don't need much. I think it would be nice to have it here, in the gardens and I of course want Annie to be apart of our ceremony. It doesn't have to be big or extravagant. We could get married at the courthouse and I wouldn't mind," she said reasonably and Oliver shook his head.

"You deserve to have that, Grace. You're a very special woman and of all the woman I know, it's you who deserves the big and extravagant wedding that others are dying to have. You must have some kind of idea,"

Grace chuckled. "Well, I suppose. I want it to be a sunny day when we get married and I want to incorporate violets somewhere into the theme. They're my favourite flowers. I guess it would also be nice to have a red velvet cake and have the staff be our guests, not just the staff for that day. That's my dream wedding. I don't really care to have those women come to my wedding,"

Oliver smiled and kissed her cheek. "If that's what you want, Grace, that's what will happen. I honestly don't mind how our wedding goes, as long as we get married somewhere in the day."

"Then that's what I want," Grace said and he nodded.

"It sounds marvellous, my dear." He replied and Drake came outside onto the terrace with a pot of coffee.

"Are the girls awake, Drake?" Grace asked once he had finished filling Oliver's mug. The butler nodded.

"They've been awake for about ten minutes. They're eating breakfast in the dining room," he replied.

Grace smiled and she got up from her seat, Oliver following behind her, as they went inside to find the girls giggling and chattering away at breakfast just like the previous two mornings. An instant smile crept up onto Grace's face when she heard them so happy. It was definitely going to be hard for her to send them back to the orphanage. Of course, they had found a much better replacement for Miss Hannigan, but they deserved a real family, with a mother and a father and a warm home to come to when they'd had a bad day.

"Daddy Warbucks!" Annie exclaimed when she saw her father, hopping up to hug him. "Good morning!" She said and Oliver smiled down at her, ruffling her hair.

"Good morning, Annie. Did you sleep well?"

"Oh, yes, I was very tired last night. I fell asleep immediately. How about you?" She asked, smiling up at him, fingering the new locket around her neck.

"I slept very well, because I knew you were finally safe." He said and Annie smiled as she left the embrace to hug her mother.

"Good morning, Mom," Annie said as she wrapped her arms around Grace's waist.

The word 'mom' sounded foreign to her, but she smiled when she heard Annie say it. "Good morning, sweetie. I hope you had a nice party last night,"

Annie nodded excitedly. "I really did, Mom! It was a lot of fun," she remarked and Grace chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm. The other six girls watched Annie with her new parents in envy, wanting nothing more than to have a mother for themselves. Grace caught them staring at her and Annie and she smiled at them warmly.

"Mr. Warbucks and I will find you all homes soon, I promise. That's on our list of things to do," she said and they all broke out into smiled, beginning to chatter about their dream parents.

After they finished their breakfast, they headed upstairs and began to pack up their new belongings that Grace had bought for them. Oliver was waiting downstairs in the foyer with his bodyguard to drive them back to the orphanage. Grace and the girls came downstairs and stopped in front of Oliver. Grace smiled and knelt down to their eye levels.

"It was nice to have you girls here for the weekend," She said, "You'll have to come back and visit us soon,"

The girls smiled at this and each said goodbye to Grace and Annie, who were staying at the mansion while Oliver dropped them off. Oliver turned to them when they had finished saying their goodbyes.

"You girls ready?" He asked, smiling at them.

They all nodded, all except for little Molly, who burst into tears and ran towards Annie, wrapping her arms around her legs. "Don't make me go! I don't want to leave!" She exclaimed and Annie looked down at her friend, surprised at try sudden outbursts. She wrapped her arms around Molly a brief hug before kneeling down in front of her.

"Molly, you have to go. You guys can come visit me real soon, I promise, but you have to go back home today," she said softly and Molly shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks.

"I don't want to leave you again, Annie! Please!" The little girl looked up to Grace. "Please, Miss Farrell, please! Don't make me go back! I'll be real good, I promise!" Molly was near hyperventilation and Annie looked up to her mother in sheer desperation. Grace's heart broke at seeing how upset the girl was and gestured for Oliver and the other girls to go outside to give the three of them privacy. She then took both girls by the hand and led them to the kitchen, asking Mrs. Pugh to prepare a glass of warm milk for the upset little girl.

"Now, sweetheart, why don't you tell me what this is all about," Grace said once Molly had finished her drink and was significantly calm again.

The little girl sniffled. "I don't wanna go back to the orphanage, Miss Farrell. I don't wanna leave Annie." She said pleadingly and Grace took her hand.

"Mr. Warbucks and I promise to find you a home very, very soon, sweetheart, and you can come visit us anytime, but you need to go back to the orphanage right now," she said softly.

"Please, Miss Farrell? I'll be real good, I promise I will!" Molly said and Grace smiled at her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think you'll be bad, sweetheart, but Mr. Warbucks and I have to talk about this. Annie why don't you take Molly upstairs to your room while I go talk to him," she said and Annie nodded, getting up from her seat and taking her friend by the hand.

Grace let out a sigh once the two had left and went outside to find the five other girls crowded around Oliver and giggling at something he'd said. They ceased their giggling when they saw Grace, who smiled warmly at them before pulling Oliver said.

"How's Molly doing?" He asked and Grace sighed.

"She's calmed down, but she really doesn't want to leave Annie, Oliver. I don't know what to do. I know we just adopted Annie and she needs to have us to herself right now, but that poor little girl. She's really close to Annie and she's really upset at the thought of leaving her."

"What do you want to do, Grace?" Oliver asked, knowing that Grace was wiser about little girls than he was.

"I honestly think we should let her stay for tonight, Oliver. Maybe she'll be more open to going back tomorrow, but I think she needs a little alone time with Annie right now."

Oliver nodded and kissed her cheek. "Whatever you think is best, darling." He replied and the two went back to the other girls who were intrigued to know what was going to happen with their friend.

"Is Molly coming back with us?" July asked and Grace shook her head.

"Not tonight, darling. She's really upset about leaving Annie." She replied, "She should be back home tomorrow,"

Pepper rolled her eyes. "She needs to grow up and realise she can get what she wants just by crying," the tough girl muttered, but still loud enough for everyone around her to hear. Grace smiled warmly.

"She's going to grow up soon enough. It won't hurt us to let her stay one more night," she replied and the girl snorted.

"Whatever,"

Oliver cleared his throat. "Girls, should we get going?" He asked and the girls looked up, nodding at him. They said their final goodbyes to Grace and hopped inside the car. Grace smiled, waving them off before going to find Annie and Molly in Annie's bedroom. Annie had her arm around Molly, reading "Alice in Wonderland" aloud to her as the little girl hung onto every word with intrigue. Grace watched the scene as her smile grew wider, happy to see both of the girls at ease and not worrying about their caretaker.

"Molly, Mr. Warbucks agreed to let you stay the night," Grace said after watching them for a few minutes. Both girls looked up, not expecting to hear a voice.

"Really?!" Molly asked in disbelief. Grace chuckled.

"Really," she repeated and Molly hopped up, running to hug her.

"Thank you, Miss Farrell," she said as she left the room to go grab her suitcase with her very few belongings. Annie smiled at her mother.

"Thank you, Mom, for being so nice to Molly. I've never seen her so upset before, I don't know what happened," she said and Grace smiled.

"It was nothing, sweetheart. Molly is family. She deserves to have someone watch out for her," Grace came over and sat next to her daughter, ruffling her hair. Molly came bounding back into the room with the energy only a six year old could possess. Annie went back to reading to Molly and Grace left them to themselves as she went downstairs to Oliver's office to begin work for the day.

She sat down at her chair, pulling out a document for President Roosevelt that Oliver had dictated to her a few days prior. She began to work on it, but kept getting distracted as her mind drifted back to the two little girls upstairs.

It was clear to her that the two had grown very close in the two years they had been together at the orphanage. She was ecstatic that Annie was her daughter now, but seeing the two of them together today had made her stop in her tracks and think about the younger of the two and how much her life was going to change without Annie around. Grace felt almost...guilty to take Annie away. That being said, though, Grace had to consider the fact that Annie had just very recently become apart of a real home and a real family and that she needed time to bond with herself and Oliver. She wanted to give the little girl time to gain trust for her parents, but now even the thought of sending Molly back to the cold and lonely orphanage made her heart hurt beyond belief. She had felt the exact same way when she realised that Annie was going to have to go back sooner or later, which was what led her to (quite courageously, if you asked her) almost beg Oliver to let her stay.

She put down the document in her hands and sighed. She loved Molly, she really and truly did and she wanted to adopt her. She didn't want to have to send her back and she didn't want to think of the little girl having to go through anymore pain then she had already.

The only obstacle she saw now was getting Oliver to agree to adopt her. Even though he had definitely become more loving ever since Annie, she was afraid that another child coming into the house would be too much for him to handle. She would just have to find some way to combine him.

Almost as if he was sensing she was thinking about him, Oliver came into the office suddenly and frowned when he saw his fiancée's distressed look.

"Grace, what's wrong?" He asked, immediately crossing over to her, panic clipped in his voice.

Grace chuckled at his worry and smiled up at him. "Nothing's wrong, dear, I just have a lot on my mind. I actually want to talk to you real quick,"

Oliver looked at her, brow furrowed, but went and sat down at his chair anyways. "What's this all about?"

Grace sighed. "I've been thinking a lot these past couple days and I'm surely going to sound absolutely insane when I say this, but I think that we should adopt Molly,"

Oliver's eyes widened at this. "Grace," he started but the woman shook her head, cutting him off.

"Please, Oliver, hear me out. I know that we just adopted Annie and I know that she needs time to settle in, but I honestly don't think she would be against the idea, and I really don't have it in me to send that poor little girl back to the orphanage."

Oliver sighed. "Grace, I know that you want to give these girls homes and take them away from the orphanage. I love you for it, but it's not realistic to adopt them all,"

"I never asked for that. I'm asking you to adopt Molly, who doesn't know anything but the harshness and coldness of the orphanage and then Annie's comfort. You haven't seen them together the way I have, Oliver. They're like sisters and I don't know how Molly's going to go on without Annie. She's only six; how can we take away the only source of comfort she has in the world?"

"I don't know, Grace, but this is all so new for us already. Maybe soon we can adopt Molly, but I can't do that to Annie right now. She deserves to have our undivided attention."

Grace shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes. "I love that little girl, Oliver. I love Molly and thinking of sending her back to that horrible place makes my heart hurt. I see how upset she gets when she thinks of leaving Annie or when she has a nightmare and my heart just breaks into pieces for her. I want to be there for her when she gets upset and I want to comfort her and tell her that, for once in her life, everything will be okay." She replied, the tears spilling out onto her cheeks now. Oliver was taken aback at this and came over to her side.

"You really mean this, Grace. It means a lot to you," he observed softly, handing her his handkerchief as Grace nodded.

"It means a lot to me, Oliver," she repeated.

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Then I want nothing more than to adopt that little girl. I'll call my lawyer right now and have him draw up adoption papers. She'll be ours, legally, by tomorrow morning," he said and she smiled through her tears, kissing him.

"Thank you," she replied and he kissed her cheek.

"Of course, darling,"

Oliver left his fiancée to call his lawyer as Grace left the room to find the girls. She found them out in the gardens, playing a game of tag and she smiled at hearing their giggles. She had always wanted a large family, and now, within the span of only three weeks she was engaged and had two daughters. How crazy was that?

She watched the girls play for a few minutes more before feeling an embrace wrap around her. She turned around to find Oliver, who was smiling.

"The papers should be here by five this evening. All we have to do is sign them and drop them off at the Board of Orphans office for approval and she's ours."

Grace kissed him when she heard this. "I can't wait."

* * *

><p>Grace shut Annie's bedroom door for the second time that night and stepped out into the hallway, sighing and looking at her watch. It was already eleven at night and she had had quite an eventful (and emotional day). After Oliver had drawn up the papers, he and grace took the girls to the zoo for the first time in their lives. They both had a great time and it was the beginning of a bonding experience for Molly, Oliver, and Grace together. The two had decided to keep the impending adoption under-wraps until it was finalised the next morning, but it was still nice to spend the day with their two daughters, even if one didn't know she was a daughter.<p>

They stayed at the zoo until it closed at five and then Grace and Oliver decided to take the girls to the movies and out to dinner. They got back to the mansion around nine at night and both girls were exhausted beyond belief, so Oliver and Grace helped them ready for bed and tucked in before deciding to get a little work done before they retired.

They had just finished twenty minutes ago and Grace couldn't help but feel the need to check in on the girls to make sure they were still sleeping peacefully.

Annie was out cold and presently Grace crossed the hall to check in on Molly. The little girl seemed to be swallowed up by the large bed, but she could tell she was in a deep sleep, one arm wrapped around a battered teddy bear and her thumb in her mouth. Grace smiled and slowly crept into the room, softly sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Your life is about to change forever, sweetie. You won't have to be alone ever again," the woman whispered, reaching out to stroke Molly's hand. The little girl smiled subconsciously at the contact and Grace stroked her hand for a few minutes before getting up to kiss her forehead and leaving the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Oliver was up around eight thirty the next morning, which, for him, was late. He had been so tired lately, not being able to get in a good night's rest since the night Annie had been kidnapped, but the previous night he had fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and slept well all the way through the night. He knew now that it had something to do with the fact that this morning he was finalising Molly's adoption.

Going to the zoo with her, Annie, and Grace the day before had cemented the fact that he was making the right decision in adopting her. She was very sweet and he could definitely see where Grace was coming from when she said Molly depended on Annie a lot. He couldn't wait to see her face this morning when they announced the adoption, so he quickly got dressed and went downstairs to find all three of his ladies already more than halfway through their breakfast.

"Good morning, darling," Grace said, craning her neck up for a kiss when she saw him walk past her on the way into the room.

"Good morning, my dear," Oliver replied, kissing her lightly. He heard the girls giggle softly at this and turned around, amusedly smiling.

"What's so funny, girls?" He asked and Annie tried to hide her giggles with the back of her hand.

"Nothin'." The little girl replied, still giggling. Oliver chuckled and crossed over to her, kissing the top of her head.

"Nothing, huh?" He repeated and Annie nodded, her laughter dying down now.

"Good morning, Daddy Warbucks," she said, hugging his waist from where she was sitting.

"Good morning, Annie. I trust you slept well,"

"I did. I dunno what it is about that room, but it makes me sleep real well," the redhead replied.

"The beds feel like fluffy clouds!" Molly interjected and Annie giggled once more at this.

"Yeah, they do," she agreed, "How did you sleep, Daddy Warbucks?"

"I slept pretty well myself. I think it's easier to sleep having you in the house, I don't know why," he said, going over to sit down and beginning to serve himself breakfast.

Annie smiled widely at her father. "I'm glad, Daddy." She said, finishing up her breakfast.

Molly watched the two of them, happy that her friend had found herself a family, but sad that she hadn't found one for herself her. "Gee, Annie," she began, "You're real lucky you have Mr. Warbucks and Miss Farrell as your mommy and daddy. I wish I had parents like 'em." She finished wistfully.

Grace looked to Oliver at this, and, knowing what she wanted, he nodded.

"Actually, sweetheart, Mr. Warbucks and I wanted to talk to you about that," Grace replied, "We were talking yesterday about how sweet, loving and caring you are and how close you are to Annie, and we have a very important question to ask you."

Molly looked at her, confused about what was going on. "Yes, ma'am?" She asked.

"How would you feel about becoming a part of our family, sweetheart?" Grace finished, a wide smile spreading across her face as she said the words. Annie wore a matching grin when she heard this and she looked to her friend, who's mouth dropped open in disbelief.

"You mean...you mean...adopt me?" She asked, incredulous.

"We mean adopt you," Oliver confirmed, smiling at the little girl.

"Oh, Mr. Warbucks, I would love to!" Molly exclaimed, running to Oliver who set her on his lap so she could give him a hug. She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, Mr. Warbucks," the little girl said softly, taking a moment to realise how lucky she had just become.

Oliver smiled. "Of course, sweetheart. We all love you, very, very much." He replied, hugging the girl before setting her down on the ground so he could finish his breakfast.

"Annie, guess what?!" Molly asked excitedly, realising something she hadn't thought of concretely before.

"What?" The redhead asked, giggling at her excitement.

"We're gonna be sisters! Really and truly, we're gonna be sisters!"

Annie smiled at this fact, also not thinking about this concretely before, walking over to Molly and giving her a big hug. "I knew we would find a home one day," she replied, kissing the little girl's forehead. Molly pulled out of the embrace and went back to her seat as the older girl took their dishes into the kitchen.

"What are we doing today, Daddy Warbucks?" Annie asked as she came back into the room.

"Well, after we finish eating, we're going to the orphanage to finalise Molly's adoption. Afterwards, we can do whatever she wants to do to celebrate. It's her day," he replied.

"Sounds good." Annie said approvingly, smiling. "I'm really glad you're staying here, Molly,"

"Me, too." Molly replied happily. Annie got up again and started up the staircase in order to get ready for the day. Grace got up from her seat and Molly followed behind her into the kitchen, clearly having something to say, but not sure how exactly to say it. Grace turned around to find the little girl at her feet and she smiled.

"What's on your mind, sweetheart?" She asked, bending down to her. Molly threw herself into Grace's arms, hugging her tightly, the hug she had been waiting to give someone for years.

"Thank you, Miss Farrell," she whispered gratefully and Grace pulled away from the girl so Molly could look at her as she said her next words.

"Molly, sweetheart, you and Annie are two very special little girls and I am thrilled that we could give you a warm, loving home. Don't ever think you have to thank me for that." Grace said firmly, but warmly.

"Okay, Miss Farrell," Molly smiled at Grace and was about to walk off, but Grace stopped her.

"You know, sweetheart, you don't have to call me Miss Farrell anymore if you don't want to," she said and Molly looked up, eyes wide.

"I don't?" She asked, the concept completely foreign to her.

Grace shook her head, smiling. "You don't," she affirmed.

"Can I call you mama?" She asked and Grace chuckled at her timidity, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"I would like that very much, sweetheart, very much,"

Molly smiled and hugged the woman tightly again before hopping off her lap and heading upstairs to get dressed for the day. Grace watched her, happy that things were working out for them all.

Two hours later, the four of them were walking up the steps to the Hudson Street Orphanage to finish the last of Molly's adoption paperwork and be done with the place for once and for all. Oliver and Grace went into the new caretakers' office to do paperwork while Annie and Molly went to their old room and told their friends the good news.

"Wow, I can't believe you're getting adopted," Duffy said, incredulous, "and together, too!"

"Yeah, it's real great," Pepper muttered bitterly, "One gets adopted 'cause she ran away for the ten billionth time and the other 'cause she's a huge crybaby. Whoop-de-do."

"Aw, why can't you just be happy for them? It's not like one of us gets adopted that often," July said to the tough girl, who rolled her eyes in return.

"Well, even if she ain't happy for you guys, I sure am," Tessie said.

"Thanks,Tessie," Annie said smiling.

"I am, too," Kate agreed, "Mr. Warbucks seems like a real nice guy,"

"He is," Annie replied, "and so is Miss Farrell. They're perfect together,"

"And they're the perfect mommy and daddy," Molly piped up happily, but then realised who she was talking to. "But I'm sure you guys will all get homes soon, too," she said optimistically.

Pepper snorted from behind the girl. "Yeah, I'm sure that everyone is just dying to have me as their kid. I'm such a delight," she said sarcastically and Annie shot her a pointed look, though almost nothing could break how good her mood was today.

She was about to reply when Oliver and Grace came into the room, Oliver holding the adoption papers tight in his hand. Grace came over to the youngest of the girls in the room and knelt down beside her.

"Molly, sweetheart, you are now and forevermore, not an orphan. You're our daughter," the woman said and Molly broke out into a wide smile, hugging her. Oliver came over and joined the embrace. Molly looked up to her parents, pure happiness displayed on her face.

"Thank you so much,"she whispered.

Annie watched her family for a few seconds, letting Molly have this moment with Oliver and Grace, before joining the group hug. The other girls "aww"ed at the family, all except for Pepper, who stood distant away from the group, looking disgusted. Oliver broke the embrace and the girls went over to their friends to say their finally goodbyes, but inviting the, over to the mansion sometime in the future.

They walked out of the orphanage, Molly hand in hand with Annie and Oliver, while Grace took Annie's other hand. Once inside the car, Annie smiled to her sister.

"What are we doing today, Molly?" She asked and the little girl thought for a moment before lighting up with a smile, having thought of something.

"Can we go to Coney Island?" She asked, bouncing up and down with excitement. Oliver chuckled at this,

"I don't see why not," he replied, telling his bodyguard to take them to Coney Island.

It took them about an hour to get to the island and the girls were bubbling over with excitement as they got closer and

closer. Annie was the first to hop out of the car, eager to explore what the amusement park had to offer. Molly followed close behind her and Oliver paid the tickets for admission. Annie immediately spotted a roller coaster when she walked into the park and began to pull on her father'a sleeve.

"Daddy, look!" She said excitedly, pointing to the ride. "Can we go on?"

Oliver looked up to where she was pointing, his stomach beginning to get queasy just at the thought of boarding the ride. One look at Annie, though, made him reconsider saying no.

"Why not?" He said, smiling even though he was already regretting his decision. Annie beamed at this and looked up to her mother.

"What about you, Mom?" She asked and Grace chuckled.

"Oh, I don't think so Annie. I get sick easily on rides like those. You and your father have fun, though," she said, suppressing another chuckle as she looked to Oliver and realised that he was feeling the exact same way she was.

"I wanna go on, too!" Molly said excitedly, not even realising what the ride was. They walked over to the entrance of it and measured both the girls to make sure that they were tall enough to go on it. Annie was well over the height restriction, but Molly was just a foot shorter than it. She pouted at this.

"We'll find something else to do, sweetheart," Grace reassured the disappointed girl, "I'm sure you will get to go on it in the future,"

Oliver smiled at his fiancée and kissed her lightly before he and Annie boarded the ride. Grace took Molly by the hand and walked around with her while waiting for Oliver and Annie to be finished. Annie came running up to them ten minutes later, running on pure adrenaline.

"How was it, Annie?" Molly asked, intrigued.

"It was a lot of fun! It went really fast and really high! You would've loved it," Annie replied, smiling at her little sister, who pouted a little at the fun she had missed. Annie ruffled her hair. "Maybe you can go on next year,"

Molly nodded excitedly as Oliver came up behind them. Grace chucked when she saw how sick he looked to be after the ride.

"Did you like it, dear?" She asked teasingly.

"Oh, yes, it was the most fun I've had in years." He replied drily as the family started walking further and further into the park. Molly stopped suddenly, gasping when she saw a carnival game with a large stuffed pony as the prize.

"It's a pony!" She said excitedly, pointing to the game.

Oliver chuckled at her excitement, bending down to her level. "Would you like me to get it for you?" He asked and the little girl nodded, smiling. He stood up his full height and paid the fifty cents to play the game, which was knocking a tower of bottles down with a baseball. He won within four tries and took the stuffed animal down from its post, handing it to his daughter.

"Thank you so much, Daddy Warbucks!" The little girl exclaimed, not even taking a moment to realise she had just called Oliver "daddy" for the first time.

"It's my pleasure, sweetheart," he replied, eyes softening as she hugged the pony to her. He looked up to Grace, who smiled, knowing exactly how he was feeling. Molly hugged her father once more before he got up and the four of them continued to walk around Coney Island, stopping at whichever games the girls wanted to play or whatever rides they wanted to go on.

The family ended up staying at Coney Island until almost eight, which was far longer than Grace had intended to stay, but the girls were having such a great time she couldn't bear to pull them away. Their energy seemed to be fading by that time, so she and Oliver decided it was time to go. They went out to dinner at a cheap restaurant, the cheapest one Oliver had been to in a long while, on the way back home to the mansion. The food was not the gourmet meals Oliver and Grace were used to being served, but Annie and Molly seemed to enjoy it a lot more than their parents. Grace knew it had to do a lot with the fact that gourmet for the girls up until now had been mush that was cooked just well enough to be partially enjoyable.

As the family rode home in the car, Annie curled up against Grace's side almost asleep and Molly fully asleep in her arms, she took the moment to realise how much her life had changed since bringing Annie to the mansion. She had gone from being simply a secretary to being the mother of two little girls and a fiancée to a billionaire, all in the span of less than a month. And to be completely honest, she wouldn't trade any of it for the world. She had the best daughters anyone could ever ask for as well as the sweetest man by her side.

She only wished her mother could be there to see how happy she was. She had died when Grace was just twelve, only a couple years older than Annie was and the impact of her death had weighed heavily on her. She was incredibly close to her mother, shared everything with her, so to go from having her there every single day, twenty four seven, to having her there none was the hardest thing Grace had ever to endure. It seemed that she missed her mother more and more as the days passed and all she wanted now was to have her there to give her advice on raising the girls and her relationship with Oliver. After her mother had passed, her father had isolated himself from everyone, including Grace, so she'd had to figure out everything on her own as she had no family willing to take her on. It was on nights like these, when everything seemed to be perfect, that she really began to miss her mother. She wrote letters frequently to her, always hoping beyond hope to get a response, but no luck.

The car suddenly pulled to a stop in front of the mansion and Oliver smiled at her as he gathered Annie, who had finally given up her fight to stay awake, in his arms. Grace smiled back as she shifted Molly in hers so that the little girl wouldn't awake as she carried her up to her room. Once the little girl had been changed into her nightgown and was in the large bed, Grace sat down on the bed and watched her sleep much as she had the night before. Molly looked so completely peaceful when she slept now, almost as if she now knew she could finally relax after being in an orphanage nightly for so long. She finally had parents now, finally had someone to be there no matter what.

Grace slowly got up from the bed and went to the door, opening it softly just as Molly began to moan in her sleep, something in her dream distressing her. The little girl awoke with a start and, not noticing Grace, began to cry out for someone to come for her. Grace hurriedly came back over to the little girl and gathered her in her arms.

"Molly, sweetheart, you're okay. I'm here, alright? Mama is here," she soothed softly as the little girl clung to her, feeling the safest she had in years.

"Forever?" The little girl asked and Grace smiled, nodding.

"Forever. You don't need to worry about anyone leaving you ever again," she reassured and Molly tightened her hold on Grace at these words, really and truly believing her.

"I love you, Mama," she replied through her tears and Grace kissed her forehead.

"I love you, too, darling, very, very much." Grace smiled again at her new daughter and shifted her back under her covers. Molly smiled up at her mother sleepily as she began to drift off again.

"I'm always here, little girl, I'm always here," Grace said, slowly getting up from the bed again. She watched Molly sleep from the doorway for a good five minutes before she left the room, hoping that her daughter would be able to sleep well for the rest of the night.

* * *

><p>The rest of the week passed by slowly and quickly at the exact same time. Oliver and Grace had decided to take the week off work to spend the first official week the girls were in their news home with them. They had taken them to various places around New York and really began to bond with them. Oliver hadn't taken this long off work in over ten years, and it felt nice to be able to take a break for once and spend quality time with his new taught ears.<p>

Now, though, Grace sat at the desk in Oliver's office, surrounded by mounds of paperwork. It was nice to take the week off work, but that didn't exactly mean the rest of the world would stop functioning just for her and her fiancée. She had more papers to complete than she thought humanly possible and Oliver was at a meeting at the house, so it wasn't like he could even help to make time pass by quicker.

'We are never taking this long off ever again," she muttered to herself as she closed one twelve page document and opened up another one. She sighed and flipped on the radio, hoping that it would give her some motivation to finish her work.

"Ah, yes, what a beautiful day," the radio announcer said, "Such a beautiful day, this eleventh of July,"

Grace stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the date and shuffled around the desk to look for a calendar. Surely it couldn't already be the eleventh, she thought to herself, but as she flipped to the date, she realised it was, in fact, airway the eleventh. An overwhelming feeling of grief overcame her when she realised this. Was it six, or was it seven years since the incident? It didn't feel like either of those numbers could possibly be right. The pain was still so fresh if felt like it has just happened yesterday. She put down the document in her hands, tears welling up in her eyes and making her vision blurry.

It was six years to the day that her fiancée, Edward, had passed away on the way to their rehearsal dinner. She couldn't believe that she let the day come and she had forgotten all about it. It felt like a dishonour to him, and it felt wrong that she had forgotten about this day all because she was so busy with the girls.

Normally, July would begin with her anxious as the day came closer and closer, but this year she had been so preoccupied with the girls that he hadn't crossed her mind once. She missed him so much, though. It seemed so unfair to her that the one time she had found true happiness ever since her mother passed away, it was ripped away from her right before she began her happily ever after. After the news had come that he had been in a car accident and was dead, Grace swore to herself that she would never love anyone ever again. That was when she decided to go work for Oliver. She had grown up with Edward, in her hometown, so to stay there after his death was just not an option for her. Everything reminded her of him.

When she saw one day that Oliver was looking for a new secretary, she pounced at the chance, the chance to get away from the pain. She had thrown herself into her new job, not wanting to deal with her grief. When the two year anniversary had passed and she had become so overwhelmed that she considered taking her own life just so she didn't have to deal with the pain anymore, Grace realised she was in denial about the fact he was gone. That night was a wake up call to her. Considering driving herself into the nearest lake was so unlike her, it terrified her.

She decided to take a couple months off work and went to a therapist to get help with her grief. In her first or second session, the therapist had said something that stuck with her even now, four years later. What would Edward have wanted her to do, the therapist had asked her, and Grace thought long and hard about that. She knew he certainly wouldn't have wanted her to shut herself off from everything like her father did when her mother died and she also knew he would want her to go on with her life, no matter what pain she endured.

After she had seen the therapist for awhile and went through all the components of her grief, Grace went back to work for Oliver and she was significantly happier with her life. She not only was more successful in her work, but she was also happier in her general life. She began dating again a couple months later and vowed to herself that she would honour Edward in everything she did from now on, and she had. Every decision she made was because of Edward. That didn't mean the month of July was any easier for her to go through. Quite the opposite, actually. Every time the first of July hit, Grace began to anxiously count down the days until it would be one more year without Edward. She had loved him so very much, he was the one constant in her life when her mother had died. They had gone through everything together and she remembered thinking the day he died that nothing would tear them apart. How wrong she was, she thought now, as her soft tears turned into gasping sobs.

She leaned her head down on the desk, letting herself cry. What she didn't know, though, was that Annie was standing in the doorway, having come to ask her mother to taste the cookies she had just made, but was now instead watching Grace's breakdown with concern. The redhead was at a loss of what to do. She was used to comforting kids her age when they were upset, but she had only seen one adult be this upset in her entire life. She had no idea what to say, or even if she should at all. There was obviously a reason Grace was crying in private, right?

She sighed and decided it would be rude to disrupt the privacy., turning away from the doorway, and softly shutting the door behind her. She went downstairs to find her little sister in the kitchen eating one of the cookies the two of them just made.

"Where's Mama?" Molly asked when she saw her sister come back into the room alone.

"She's busy. She said she'll be down in a little bit," Annie lied, knowing that her little sister was a lot like her in the respect that she wanted to help people when she could, no matter the problem. Molly would definitely become concerned and would want to do something to help if she told her something was wrong and Annie was concerned enough for the both of them already.

Oliver walked into the kitchen just as the two were finishing up and about to go upstairs to play.

"Daddy Warbucks!" Annie exclaimed, running to hug her father. He smiled when he saw the redhead running full speed towards him.

"Hi, Annie," he said, hugging the girl tightly. "How are you girls doing today?"

"Daddy, we made cookies!" Molly replied, handing him one. He took a bite and smiled at the little girl, who was anxiously awaiting to know how they tasted.

"They're very good, sweetie. You and your sister did a great job," he said and Molly beamed at the compliment. He finished the cookie and looked around for his fiancée, seeing her nowhere.

"Where's your mother, girls?" He asked, "Is she still working?" He began to get worried about Grace, knowing that she was very passionate about what she did and oftentimes overworked herself.

"I dunno," Annie replied, glancing anxiously towards Molly, wanting her to go away so she could talk to her father about what she witnessed in the office earlier. Oliver seemed to know that Annie had something to say to him that she either couldn't or didn't want to say in front of her little sister and knelt down in front of her.

"Molly, sweetheart, why don't you go upstairs and play for a bit while I talk to your sister about something?" He said and the little girl nodded.

"Okay, Daddy," she agreed and ran up the staircase as Oliver turned to look at the older of the two girls.

"What's on your mind, sweetheart? What's wrong?" He asked, sitting down in the chair that Molly had just gotten up from. Annie sat down next to him.

"When I was upstairs earlier to ask Mom to try a cookie, she was crying. I didn't want to be rude and invade her privacy, but she seemed really sad and she hasn't been down since. I dunno what's wrong," the little girl said and Oliver became both concerned about his wife and surprised at just how mature Annie was at only ten.

"Thank you, Annie, for telling me. Very thoughtful of you. I'll go check on her." He replied, smiling and kissed her forehead before getting up from his seat. He walked up to the office door and stopped outside for a couple moments, waiting to see if he heard any sounds of crying. When at least two minutes had passed and he heard nothing from inside the office, he knocked and softly opened the door.

Grace had the document in her hand again and seemed completely normal, aside from the fact that her face was a little bit red. She smiled when she saw her husband.

"How was your meeting, dear?" She asked, briskly, almost as if she knew he knew something was wrong.

"It was fine, I suppose. About what you would expect from a Democrat," he chuckled, "How are you doing today? Have you taken any breaks?"

Graces shook her head. "I've been just trying to get as much done as I possibly can. I've gotten a good amount done, though, so it pays off. How are the girls?"

"Happy, as usual. They just made cookies and I think they're playing now. Annie came up to ask you to try a cookie, but she said that she heard you crying," he said and Grace silently cursed herself. It figured, the one time that she broke down her daughter find her like that.

"I just," she sighed, trying to figure out how to word her next sentence best, "Today's a very hard day for me, I suppose. It's the day someone very close to me died, six years to the day. It just hit me a lot harder because I'd been so preoccupied with Annie and Molly's adoptions,"

Oliver say down next to his wife and took her hand. "Oh, Grace, I'm so sorry. What can I do?" He asked, completely something expecting this to be the reason why she was so upset.

Grace shook her head again, tears beginning to brim in her eyes. "You can't take away the pain, Oliver, though I wish you could. No money in the entire world would make me be okay with this. I've just learned to live with it,"

"Who was it? I mean, if you don't mind me asking,"

"My fiancée, Edward," she replied, chuckling, and Oliver's eyes widened.

"Fiancée?" He asked, surprised.

"Yes, fiancée. We were together ever since I was a teenager, we had grown up together. He was the one I could come to with everything, ever since my mother passed away. He was the one, Oliver, and I knew it from the moment I began to go out with him. He was my soul mate," she replied, her eyes sparkling as she remembered how much she loved him. "He proposed to me when we were twenty two, fresh out of college. We had big dreams, oh did we have big dreams. He would be the man with a large, successful business and I would be the stay at home mother with three kids and a small but nice town home. We waited two years to get married, so it would be every bit as nice as we dreamed. I would have waited forever for him. On the night of our rehearsal dinner, the day before my happily ever after began, he was killed in a car crash on the way." Grace paused now, beginning to remember the details of the day horrifically. Oliver gasped as a look of pain crossed her face. He took her hand.

"Oh, Grace," he repeated, at a loss of what to say.

"Seeing him that day at the hospital, it was awful. He wasn't dead until late that night, hours after the crash had happened. I was in my dress and I was just sitting in that hospital chair, praying that this was all a horrible dream and I would wake up the next day, ready to get married. Letting him go, be compressed to a pile of ashes, that was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. The worst part was that I had to call up everyone up the next day, telling that there would be no wedding, that the groom was nonexistent."

"I left town immediately, I couldn't stay there after we had grown up together and planned our whole lives there. I came to work for you right away. Perfect timing, I guess," she said, chuckling.

Oliver was in shock to hear all this, to hear all the pain his fiancée had endured. "Oh, Grace. I can't even imagine. How could, how are you going on?"

"That's the first time I've ever been asked such an honest question." She chuckled again, "After he died, all the questions I was asked were things along the like of 'what can I do for you?' or 'How are you doing?' It drove me insane. How was I supposed to be doing?" She shook her head and sighed, not wanting to tell the next part of the story, but knowing she needed to. "You know, I don't really know." She sighed, not wanting to tell the next part of her story, but knowing that she needed to. "Two years after he died, I hit rock bottom. I wasn't dealing with my grief at all after I came to work for you, I only allowed myself to think about work. But on the two year anniversary of his death, I was so far gone that I thought of driving myself into the Hudson River just so I didn't have to deal with the pain anymore. That's when I took those three months off work to get help, from a therapist. She told me on the first or second session to think about what Edward would want me to do, what he would be happy with me doing and I realised then that I wasn't honouring him the way he would want me to. Ever since then, every decision I've made has been done with Edward in the back of my mind,"

Oliver's eyes began to prick with tears when he saw just how much pain Grace was in. "I'm so sorry, Grace. I can't even imagine," he said, taking her into his arms. She smiled up at him, tears running down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Oliver, for springing this up on you. It's just, it's a very hard day. I hope you don't think that I don't love you any less than I did Edward,"

He shook his head. "Of course I don't, Grace. Death is a very hard thing to come to terms with. I'm just sorry that you didn't tell me sooner, I wish you had."

She smiled. "I didn't want to make you feel bad," she replied and he chuckled at this.

"Don't ever worry about that, do you hear me? You can talk about Edward whenever you need to. I don't want you to feel like you have to lock that part of your life away, just because we are together now. I would love to hear about him." He stated adamantly.

"How did I ever get so lucky with you?" She whispered, kissing him lightly.

"No, my dear, the answer is how did I get so lucky with _you_," he replied, kissing her back, but this time more deeply, having just gained even more respect for her than he thought possible.

His future wife was truly an amazing woman. She had been through so much pain and hurt in her life, but she still loved him and the girls more than he could imagine any single person could. How did he, a bitter old businessman, become the fiancée of her?

Grace smiled up at him when the kiss broke, completely happy in that moment, despite everything. "I love you so much, Oliver Warbucks,"


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed! I really appreciate all the support and I hope you're enjoying reading about Grace and Oliver just as much as I'm enjoying writing about them!

* * *

><p>Four days later, Grace stood in the studio of the seamstress Marie Clark for a dress fitting. Her wedding was five days away and this was the only time she could schedule the fitting as her calendar was filled with other appointments for caterers and the like.<p>

She and Oliver had, of course, decided to have Annie and Molly be their flower girls in the wedding and the two were now trying on their matching pastel pink dresses. The little girls were almost more excited than their mother at the impending wedding, which helped minimise the stress of planning the whole thing.

Grace was currently looking around the studio of the various dresses the seamstress had designed as the girls were in the changing room, getting dressed. Marie was anxiously chattering to her, not quite believing she was designing the dress for Oliver Warbucks' daughters.

"Mama, can you help me?" The youngest Warbucks girl asked, peeking her head out of the dressing room. Grace smiled warmly and crossed over to her.

"What's the problem, sweetheart?" She asked, taking the girl back into the dressing room.

Molly shrugged, "It won't go on, Mama," she replied and Grace observed the situation, stifling a chuckle when she realised the little girl had her dress on backwards.

"It might help, sweetheart, if you had your dress on facing the right way," Grace said, smiling widely at her daughter, helping her out of the dress.

"Oh," Molly said simply when she realised her mistake. Grace smiled at her and kissed her forehead, turning the little girl towards the mirror once she had zipped up the back of the dress.

"It looks very, very pretty on you, sweetie. You'll steal the show,"

"But stealing is bad," Molly replied, looking up at her mother confusedly, "And it's a wedding, not a show,"

Grade chuckled. "It's a saying, darling. It means that everyone will be focused on you," she said as the two walked out of the dressing room and found Annie being poked and prodded by Marie. The redhead looked unamused at this, not wanting to be the pushpin for the seamstress.

"Oh, Annie. You look beautiful," Grace said when she caught sight of her daughter, letting go of Molly's hand and walking over to her, touching the material lightly.

"It's a really pretty colour, Mom," Annie observed, smiling. "How does your dress look? Is it even prettier?" She inquired, intrigued to know all the details of the upcoming wedding.

"You'll have to wait until the wedding day, now won't you?" Grace replied, smiling teasingly at the girl. Annie pouted slightly at this.

"Aw, Mom!" She replied and Grace chuckled again, ruffling her hair.

'It's not that far away, sweetie. Only five days now," she said, smiling as the words left her mouth. In just five short days, she would be the wife of Oliver Warbucks.

"Are you excited, Mom?" Annie asked, looking up towards her mother. Grace nodded.

"I'm very excited, my dear. There's something special about falling in love that makes you absolutely giddy," she replied, talking to herself more than the girls. Marie smiled at the woman, knowing exactly what she was talking about. She finished examining Annie's dress and moved onto Molly's.

"Love, in general, is special," she commented, as she made sure that the dress fitted the little girl just right.

Grace smiled as she looked at her daughter. "I agree. I've been through a lot of pain in my life and at one point, I thought love just wasn't in the cards for me, but Oliver's just turned that all around. I can't imagine a life without love." She shook her head, "How can anyone live like that?"

Annie looked up to her mother, admiring how much she loved her father. Of all the dreams she had in the orphanage, finding parents truly in love was at the top of her list. If she couldn't find her real mother and father, Oliver and Grace were perfect replacements.

"I think the dresses are ready, Miss Farrell," Marie said to Grace once the girls were back in the dressing room. Grace smiled and shook her hand.

"Thank you, Marie, for everything. I really appreciate it," she replied and Marie smiled.

"It was my pleasure. Your girls look absolutely beautiful in their dresses. If you have any problems, please come by and tell me. I will fix it gladly,"

Grace smiled and nodded as the girls came out of the dressing room. They thanked Marie and the three of them left the studio.

"Can we get ice cream?" Annie asked once they got into the car. Grace glanced at her watch and looked back to the little girl, who was pleading with her eyes.

"Annie, it's almost time for dinner. How about afterwards we all go out for ice cream sundaes?"

"Please, Mom? Just this once," Annie replied.

"Yeah, Mama, please?" Moly joined in with the pleading and Grace looked at them both now, before reluctantly nodding.

"Just this once," she sighed and the girls cheered as she directed Punjab, who was driving them, to take them to the nearest ice cream shop. They arrived ten minutes later and the girls ordered their ice cream happily.

"Are you girls excited for the wedding?" Grace asked, taking a bite of her butter pecan ice cream.

"Yeah, Mom. I've never been to a wedding before, but I've read about them. They seem really fun," Annie replied, smiling dreamily.

"Have you ever been to a wedding before, Mama?" Molly asked, intrigued.

"I have, actually. I was the bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding a few years back. Weddings are really magical things,"

"Is your cousin coming to yours?" Annie was interested to know what other family she had gained now she was the daughter of Oliver and Grace. Her mother smiled sadly.

"I'm afraid not, sweetie. I went through something really tough a few years ago and I grew really bitter and pushed a lot of my family and friends away. I barely talk to any of them anymore,"

Annie looked at her mother sadly. Though she didn't understand the type of pain and suffering her mother had been through, she definitely understood bitterness. "Can you fix it?"

"Maybe in the future, sweetie. I really would rather just move on with the life we have right now. It's very painful to think of those memories,"

Tears sprung in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away as Molly got up from her seat and hopped up onto her lap, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"Mama, don't be sad. I don't like it when you're sad," the little girl said softly snd Grace smiled, kissing her forehead.

"I'm not sad, sweetie. Don't worry about me," she replied, hugging Molly gently. Annie got up from her seat, too, and wrapped her arms around her mother and her sister.

"I love you, Mom," the redhead whispered and Grace smiled up at her daughter.

"I love you, too, Annie. I love both you girls, very, very much. Never forget that."

The girls finished their ice cream and then headed back to the mansion. Annie and Molly ran off to play in the gardens as soon as they got home and Grace went up to Oliver's office. He fiancée was sitting in his chair, focused intently on what he was working on. Grace came up behind him and hung her arms around his neck. He smiled up to her when he felt the embrace, happy for the diversion.

"Hi, darling. How did the fitting go?" He asked.

Grace smiled. "The girls look absolutely beautiful in their dresses. Marie really did a wonderful job with them; I am definitely going to have her do some other dresses for us. Poor girl was so nervous to be around us, though," she chuckled. "How is your day going?"

"It's work. I don't know how I can make it much more appealing, but it has to get done. How is your dress coming along?" He smirked, hoping to retrieve more information about his fiancées apparel for their wedding. Grace shook her head, wanting to keep it a secret for herself.

"Ah, you know how I feel about you knowing. You have to wait five more days, mister," she replied, kissing the top of his head. She sat down in the office chair across from him.

"Five days. That seems like an eternity,"

Grace smiled. "I know what you mean. I don't know if I can hold that much longer." She sighed, "Well, at least after we get married we'll have a whole two weeks to ourselves,"

Oliver smiled at the mention of their two week honeymoon to the Caribbean. He knew it would be hard for the two of them to leave the girls for such a long time, but he also knew that it would be good for them to have uninterrupted time to themselves to make their relationship all that much stronger.

"You haven't told me, Oliver. Is any of your family coming to the wedding?" Grace asked now, shaking him out of his pleasant thoughts and turning them into not-so-pleasant ones.

"I don't think so, Grace. My siblings have all been estranged from me for over thirty years and I'm sure that my parents are either dead or very close to death, so I wouldn't count on it. They never liked me, anyways. Always said I dreamed too big. Ironic, seeing where I am now,"

Grace chuckled. "It pays to be a dreamer, I suppose. I'm sorry your family isn't coming, Oliver. I would have loved to meet them,"

The billionaire shook his head. "No, you wouldn't have. They are not the type of people you'd want as company, trust me. They're all bitter and adamant that life is awful, no matter how great it seems."

"Sounds a little like you, then," she replied, "At least the you before Annie came,"

"If you thought I was bad, multiply that by ten. I swear, I vowed to myself once I left I would never turn out as bitter as the,, and I never did. But that doesn't matter now. All that matters is you, the girls, and our future."

Grace sighed. "I guess so," she replied, but Oliver could tell there was something else she was thinking of that she wasn't saying.

"Grace, what is it?"

"On, Oliver, I know that we are trying to start over fresh with the girls, and in a way, I'm glad for that, but I can't help but feel sorry they won't know our extended family. Some of the best memories I have from when I was a girl, was of spending the holidays with my cousins and the mischief we'd get into. I want the girls to have that, to be able to look back thirty years from now and laugh about the things they did."

"Just because they won't know our biological extended family, darling, doesn't mean they won't have one at all. We have a whole staff of at least fifty, all of whom are close to the both of us and they have their orphanage friends still. I guarantee they'll have that,"

Grace smiled at this reasoning and kissed his cheek. "This is why I love you," she whispered.

"And I, you," he replied as she pulled him out of his chair.

"We should probably join the girls downstairs for dinner. It must be served already," Grace said and he nodded, the two going downstairs. Sure enough, the girls were seated at the dining room table and were serving themselves the dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.

"Daddy!" Molly exclaimed when she saw her father, promptly dropping her plate, shattering it and getting her dinner all over the large oriental rug underneath the dining room table. Her mouth formed an "o" shape when she saw what her excitement had done and she frantically began trying to clean up the mess with only a napkin. When she saw that wasn't going to work, she dropped the napkin and burst into tears, frustrated. Grace came to her side and bent down beside her, putting a hand on the little girl's shoulder.

"Molly, sweetheart, don't cry. We can clean this. It's no big deal," she said gently and Molly looked up, not expecting to be comforted instead of yelled at.

"You're-you're not going to send me back?" She whispered timidly and Grace shook her head, surprised at her daughter's words.

"Of course not, darling. It was an accident and the stain will blend in with the rug nicely," Grace smiled at her daughter as the little girl giggled at the joke.

"But, Mama, I ruined it. You're not mad?" Molly argued lightly and Grace shook her head again.

"I don't think you meant to ruin it, sweetie, did you?" Molly shook her head, "Well, then I have nothing to be mad about. We're just lucky that the spaghetti and meatballs blends in," Molly smiled and she and Grace stood up together. Grace got a new plate for the little girl and served herself and Molly before going to sit next to her husband.

"How did you girls like your dresses for the wedding?" Oliver asked once things had settled down and they were steadily eating.

"Oh, Daddy, they're beautiful," Annie replied, eyes wide, "The colour is so pretty and the design is just amazing. I can't wait to wear it,"

Oliver chuckled at the girl's excitement. "I'm sure both of you will look just as lovely as the dresses sound,"

Annie nodded excitedly.

"Are you excited to be flower girls?" Grace asked now and Annie looked to her mother, smiling widely again.

"Yeah, I really am! I've read so many books about weddings and now I get to actually be in one!" Grace chuckled at the redhead's everlasting excitement.

"And you'll be the best flower girls any wedding could have,"

"What do flower girls do, Mama?" Molly asked, confused as to what her job in when wedding would be.

"Well, sweetheart, before I walk down the aisle to get married to your daddy, you and Annie will walk down and throw flower petals down the aisle."

"Oh, that sounds like an important job!"

"It is. One of the most important ones there is," Grace smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"What kind of flowers did you choose?" Annie asked.

"We haven't yet decided, but I'm in between roses, violets, or both. What do you girls think?"

"Roses, because they're red. Red is a romantic colour, Mom," Annie said maturely and Grace chuckled at this statement, nodding.

"Yes, I suppose it is," she replied, "I guess I've made my decision, then. Roses it is,"

Annie smiled, glad to have influenced her mother's decision on what kind of flowers to get. They finished their dinner, chatting more and more about the plans for the wedding. Afterwards, the four of them went outside for a walk around the mansion's gardens before they girls would have to go to bed.

"All right, girls. Straight upstairs to get ready for bed," Grace said once their walk was finished and they were back inside the mansion. Annie and Molly groaned at this statement.

"Aw, Mom, we're not tired!" Annie protested.

"Yeah, I'm wide awake, Mama!"

Grace smiled at the both of them. "Maybe you girls aren't tired right now, but you will be tomorrow if we let you stay up any later," she replied and both the girls sighed in unison, heading upstairs. Grace chuckled once they were upstairs.

"They'll thank us in the morning," she commented and Oliver smiled, kissing her cheek.

"I'll let you tuck them in tonight. I'll meet you in the office?" He asked.

"I'll see you there," she replied as she walked up the large marble staircase to make sure the girls were preparing themselves for bed and not playing with their toys one last time for the night as she younger of the two so often did. She went into Annie's bedroom first and found the redhead brushing her teeth in her adjoining bathroom. Satisfied, Grace went across the hall to Molly's room and found the six-year-old, as she had predicted, playing at her large dollhouse, which had been an adoption gift from President Roosevelt.

"Molly," Grace said softly from the doorway, "I don't think this is what I meant by 'get ready for bed', do you?"

The little girl looked up, surprised and shook her head sheepishly. "No, but I'm really not tired, Mama. Please let me stay up a little longer. I'll be quiet!"

Grace chuckled at this request and came over to the little girl. "I really shouldn't let you do this, but let me go tuck Annie in and then I'll help you get ready for bed, so you can have a couple more minutes of playtime. Does that sound better?" She asked and Molly nodded.

"Thank you, Mama!" She replied and Grace smiled. She kissed the top of Molly's head before crossing the hall back to Annie's room. The redhead was laying in her bed now, looking absolutely exhausted.

"Sleep well, sweetheart," Grace whispered as she came over, smoothed her daughters wild curls back, and kissed her forehead, "I love you,"

"Goodnight, Mom. I love you, too," Annie mumbled sleepily, turning over on her side and falling asleep before Grace could even get up from the side of the bed. The woman chuckled lightly as she went over to the doorway and left the room, keeping the door open a slight bit. She went back to Molly's room now and found the girl engrossed in whatever story she was playing out with her toys.

"Molly, sweetie, it's time to get ready for bed now," she said softly, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. Molly looked up sadly.

"But, Mama, it's just getting fun!" She protested again. "Five more minutes?"

"I already gave you five more minutes. It's bedtime now," Grace replied, softly but stern enough that Molly knew there would be no more protesting. She reluctantly got up as Grace crossed to her dresser and picked out a nightgown. She helped the little girl change and then helped her brush her teeth before Molly, at last, crawled into bed.

"Goodnight, my sweetest little girl," Grace whispered as Molly began to get comfortable. The little girl smiled up at he mother and reached for her hand, clasping it softly.

"Goodnight, Mommy. I love you so much," she whispered back and Grace kissed her forehead.

"I love you much more," Molly smiled in content as she turned over onto her side, falling asleep almost as quick as her older sister, clearly more tired than she had let on earlier. Grace watched her peaceful sleeping face for a few minutes before she left the room, turning out the lights and keeping the door open halfway.

She went downstairs and found Oliver back at his desk, every bit as focused as he had been when she found him earlier in the day.

"The girls asleep?" He asked when the door opened and Grace smiled, nodding.

"Molly fought me a little on going to bed, saying she wasn't tired, but when she did get into bed, she fell asleep almost immediately. They must have both been worn out, they fell asleep much faster than they have ever since coming here,"

Oliver chuckled at this, knowing the girls must have been truly exhausted. "Real energetic, those two. Good thing this house is so large, they can run around all day if they want," he sighed in contentment, "Best decision I've ever made. Adopting them,"

Grace smiled at this. "I know how you feel. Sometimes it's hard to imagine life without Annie's constant questions or Molly's love. They're the best daughters I could ever ask for,"

Oliver nodded. "And they don't have to live in that horrible orphanage,"

"That's also a plus. How's working coming along?"

"Slowly. I want to finish these last two deals tonight at the very least,"

"We can do that. We've done much more in a night," she replied and the two went to their respective seats.

They worked until almost midnight before they finished their deals and decided to turn in for the night.

"Oliver," Grace said, looking at the clock at the wall that had just turned midnight as Oliver began to undo his tie.

"Hmm?" He asked, looking up to see a wide smile upon her face, which puzzled him. What about his tie was so exciting?

"Four days until we're married,"

* * *

><p>Those four days proved to be nothing short of stressful. Grace foolishly took it upon herself to plan almost everything for her wedding f and now, twelve hours until it was to begin, she was regretting the decision majorly. She was more exhausted than she had ever remembered being and the thought of getting married the next day wasn't helping calm her nerves in the slightest.<p>

She was unusually nervous about the events of the next day and she didn't know if these nerves were normal, or if they were because of what happened with Edward. Even now, even though she was engaged, she thought of him almost every day. She loved Oliver to the ends of the earth and he was, of course, her one and only, but Edwards had been her first...first everything. She would always think of him fondly.

She sighed as she rolled over onto her side, catching a glimpse of the clock. It was twelve thirty in the morning and she had wanted to be asleep at least two hours ago. She needed to be up by eight the next morning if she was going to be ready for the wedding when it was supposed to begin at eleven.

She glanced at the clock, discouraged to see only a minute had passed since she had looked the last time. Sighing again, she slowly got up from her bed, hoping that maybe a cup of late night tea would help her fall asleep faster. She slowly crept down the hallway, not wanting to wake her fiancée, daughters, or the mansion staff. Once she was in the kitchen, she moved around quietly, making her favourite tea and grabbing a cranberry muffin. She sat down at the table, the light above the stove illuminating the room, and thought.

She was overwhelmed at the emotions she was experiencing in regards to the wedding. Obviously, she was overjoyed to be finally marrying Oliver after being in love with him for so long, but even though, she missed Edward terribly and couldn't help but wonder where she'd be if the accident hadn't happened. Would she have had children? Would she still have her family in her life?

It was no secret to her that grief made you do things you normally wouldn't. She had become bitter and harsh to everyone around her, everyone who tried to console her, and eventually, they stopped trying. They cut ties off with Grace and she felt absolutely awful now, wanting nothing more than to find those who had been so close to her, but also afraid to. She was afraid that if she let them back into her life, that the pain of remembering Edward would be too much for her. Things were different now than they were six years ago. She had others to consider. She needed to stay strong for Oliver, Annie and Molly. She couldn't afford to go off the deep end anymore and she couldn't afford to risk shaking the stable ground she had found.

Whenever she thought about the_ what ifs_ of her life, it often didn't take very long to come back to what was going on in her life at the moment. Sure, she would have loved to start a family with Edward and more often than she'd like to admit, she did think long and hard about where she would have been if things hadn't worked out the way they had, but she wouldn't trade Oliver or the girls for anything in the world. She had been so blessed to have gotten the job with Oliver and she was a firm believer in the fact that things happened for a reason.

There was a _reason_ she had found Annie in the orphanage office that day, there was a _reason_ that Edward had died (whatever it was, though, she didn't want to know), and there was a _reason_ that Oliver had hired her when he did.

There was a reason that she was about to become the wife of a billionaire.

She smiled when Annie came back to her mind. Over the course of the past few weeks, there had been many moments in which she had stepped back to think about how lucky she'd gotten with the little redhead. She was the sole reason that Grace and Oliver were getting married the next day and it was almost unfathomable to think about how one small girl could cause so much change in one's life. Grace knew there was something special about Annie from the very moment she had seen her in Miss Hannigan's office and now, just because of her, Grace was a mother to two and about to be a wife. The redhead was just so optimistic that it was hard to not be the same in her presence. Grace loved Annie to an unmeasurable point and even though she had another little girl to raise now, Annie would hold a special part of her heart forever.

Molly, though, was special in her own way. The six-year-old, though oblivious and confused at times, had a mature sense to her, which Grace knew came from growing up in the orphanage. She had been exposed to things no little girl should have been and almost every night since she had been brought home, Molly had suffered from a nightmare in which she woke up screaming and crying. Every time she heard her daughter's horrific screams, Grace's heart broke a little more for her...her _baby_. Obviously, she knew that it was going to take awhile for the little girl to get situated in her new home and to living without fear being her motivation, but every time Grace heard that pained cry she couldn't help but want to take away whatever was hurting her daughter, for good.

Grace looked down at her now empty cup of tea and her half eaten cranberry muffin, sighing. She felt no less nervous about the next day, quite the opposite, actually. She was now even more concerned about the fact that another half hour had passed without her being able to sleep, knowing that getting up at eight was going to be almost impossible for her, not to mention the dark under eye circles that were inevitable. She got up from her seat and rinsed out her mug before trekking back up the stairs and back into her suite. She got into her bed again and laid down, closing her eyes and falling asleep within minutes.

* * *

><p>A loud knocking at the bedroom door was what Grace woke up to the next morning. The noise startled her and she sat up as she blinked wildly, the sunlight streaming in through her window almost blinding.<p>

"Come in!" She called out and Cecile appeared in the doorway, carrying a tray of breakfast for her. Grace smiled when she saw her friend and colleague.

"Good morning, Grace. Happy wedding day," the French woman said cheerily as she handed the tray to Grace and sat down next to her on the bed.

"Thank you, Cecile, and thank you for bringing up my breakfast. What time is it? Are the girls awake?" She replied and Cecile nodded.

"It's a quarter to nine and the girls have been awake for around an hour now. They just ate breakfast and now Annette and Elizabeth are helping them get ready for the wedding. Mrs. Pugh was getting worried about you sleeping in and sent me to make sure you were up,"

Grace chuckled at this as she took a bite of her pancakes. "I suppose the wedding can't go on without the bride, can it?"

Cecile smiled. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as possible, I suppose. I love Oliver and I'm so excited to become his wife officially, but I just can't help but be nervous. Is this normal?"

"Yes, Grace, it's perfectly normal. I would be concerned if you weren't nervous, to be quite honest. However, I know that you and Mr. Warbucks are made for each other and that today is the beginning of something great. I can guarantee that,"

Grace smiled at this, suddenly having lost her appetite. She continued eating anyways, knowing that she needed as much energy as she could muster for the day. She and Cecile chatted more about the wedding and the future in general she she finished eating her breakfast.

Once Grace had eaten as much as she could without it coming back up in a nervous haste, Cecile helped her into her gown and fixed her hair into a fancy updo. She then did her makeup and put on her veil.

"Grace, you look absolutely gorgeous," Cecile said, turning her friend to look at herself in the vanity. Grace gasped when she caught sight of herself.

"Oh, Cecile. Thank you so much. It looks amazing," she said, incredulous and Cecile smiled at Grace.

"I'm so happy for you, Grace. I hope you and Mr. Warbucks have many wonderful years together," the maid replied, kissing her cheek and leaving the room. Grace sat in silence for a few moments, still a bit nervous to begin the next chapter in her life. She looked down and touched the sunflower shaped locket around her neck, smiling slightly.

After her mother had died, Grace began to see her mother represented as a sunflower and noticed them almost everywhere she went. She had told that to Edward as they were going into college and he had gone out to buy her the necklace that very night. She wore it whenever she felt she needed guidance and today, it was not only a representation of her mother, but of Edward, as well.

Another knock at Grace's bedroom came and Grace smiled this time when she heard it, knowing it was someone to get her for the wedding. She crossed over to the door and opened it to find Mrs. Greer on the other side.

"Mr. Warbucks is at the altar, dear, and more than half of the guests have arrived already," the older woman said as she looked Grace up and down, her breath catching. "Oh, Grace, dear. You look marvellous,"

"Thank you, Mrs. Greer. I suppose it's time to get the show on the road, yes?"

Mrs. Greer nodded and gestured for Punjab, Oliver's bodyguard who had agreed to give Grace away as she was estranged from her father, to come in.

"Miss Farrell," he began, "You look like the clearest night sky there is,"

Grace smiled, deciding to take these words as a compliment and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Punjab. Are you ready?" She asked and the man nodded, hooking her arm in his and walking her down the marble staircase.

They went to the terrace French doors and through the window, Grace saw all the guests sitting in the chairs leading up to the altar, where Oliver stood, looking rather nervous. The bridal march began playing from an organ outside and the girls began to walk down the aisle, looking (at least as Grace saw it) absolutely beautiful. Once they were finished making their way down the aisle, it was Grace's turn. She and Punjab walked out the door and into the gardens, where all the guests stood to catch a glimpse of the new Mrs. Warbucks. It took a short minute for Grace to get to Oliver, who looked the most handsome she had ever seen a man look before.

'Dearly beloved," the minister began once Punjab had given Grace away. "We are gathered here today..."

* * *

><p>The ceremony was over too soon, Grace thought, but at the same time, not soon enough. She had grown up as a very private person, never liking to share the details of her life with anyone and to have over a hundred strangers witness the most important event in her life was unsettling at best. She had meant it when she'd told Oliver that she didn't need a large orchestration of a wedding, but he didn't take that as an acceptable answer. Only the best for her, he'd said, and this was what the best was, according to him. She was too polite to tell him otherwise.<p>

"Grace, Oliver, congratulations!" President Roosevelt said to the newlyweds at their reception lunch. Grace smiled when she saw the president.

"Thank you, President Roosevelt, and thank you for coming," she replied, taking Oliver's hand and intertwining it into her own.

"It was my pleasure, Mrs. Warbucks. You and Oliver are the best couple I've seen in a long while," the president stated, making the brunette blush and the bald man chuckle.

"She's the only one for me," he said, kissing Grace lightly. The president smiled and wheeled off as Grace and Oliver went back to their table.

"My dear, you look absolutely stunning today," Oliver commented as they did so, "Absolutely stunning."

"And you, ravishingly handsome," Grace smiled as she sat down in her chair at the table.

The girls were deep in their conversation, not even noticing their parents for the first time since they'd gotten married. The couple began to eat in silence, wondering how long it would take for them to realise, when Annie looked up and gasped.

"Oh, Mom, Daddy, the wedding was beautiful!" The redhead exclaimed when she saw her parents. "Mom, your dress is so beautiful,"

"Mama, you look like a princess," Molly interjected and Grace chuckled at their excitement.

"You girls are quite a sight to see, too," Oliver replied, smiling and ruffling his older daughter's hair affectionately.

"Does it feel any different, being married?" She asked and Grace shook her head.

"Not really, Annie, but that could be just be because I already felt like we were married. This ceremony is just to make that fact official. I honestly didn't need any of this to be happy,"

"Your mother is right. No ceremony made us love each other any more than we did already. This was just an incentive. And a very nice incentive, indeed. You two did a very good job at being our flower girls," Oliver complimented, to which Molly broke out into a wide smile.

"Did we really, Daddy? Did you really like how we did it?" She asked, bouncing up and down excitedly and Grace set a hand on her shoulder, a silent reminder to calm down.

"Yes, sweetheart, I did. I think you took the importance of the job very seriously. Good work,"

Molly smiled and she and her older sister finished their food before going off to play in the mansion gardens as Grace and Oliver began to eat together. They were approached every once in a while to receive congratulations on their newlywed status, but for the most part, it was just the two of them.

Grace honestly wouldn't have it any other way.

The last of the guests had filed out of the mansion gardens by five, which worked out perfectly for Oliver and Grace, as their flight to the Caribbean took off at seven. This time period gave them just enough time to finish their last minute packing, eat a quick dinner with the girls, and head off to the airport. Around six fifteen, the four of them met in the mansion's foyer, Oliver and Grace with suitcases in tow, to say goodbye.

"Have a good time in the Caribbean, Mom," Annie said as she hugged Grace tightly.

"I will try, sweetheart. You girls be good for the staff and have fun. I love you," She replied and Annie smiled, nodding.

"I love you, too, Mom," She pulled out of the embrace and went to hug her father goodbye as Grace went to say goodbye to the youngest member of the Warbucks household, who was not taking news of her parents being gone for two weeks very well.

"Goodbye, my sweet, sweet little girl. Daddy and I will be back in two weeks, alright? Only two weeks," Grace said softly as tears welled in her daughter's eyes.

"I love you, Mama," the little girl replied, her tears turning into full-blown sobs. Grace pulled her in for a hug, rubbing her back in hopes to comfort her.

"I love you, too, darling. Two weeks really isn't that long, and I bet that you and Annie will be having so much fun you won't even notice we're gone," she said soothingly as she pulled back from the embrace, smiling at the little girl. Molly looked back at her mother, not yet convinced that what her mother was saying was true. Grace suddenly got an idea and unclasped her sunflower necklace and hung it around her daughter's neck instead.

"Here, darling, I want you to have this while I'm gone. Whenever you get lonely for me or for Daddy, just look at it and think of it as us hugging you, okay? This way we'll always be with you," she said and Molly smiled at this, nodding.

"Okay, Mama," she replied through a curtain of tears.

"That's my brave girl," Grace pulled her daughter in for another hug. "I am going to miss you so very much, darling, but I just know you and Annie will have the best time. We will be back before you know it. I love you,"

"I love you, too, Mommy," Grace stood up to her full height and Oliver picked up the little girl, hugging her goodbye.

Once he had set her down on the floor, Oliver and Grace walked out the mansion doors, waving goodbye to their daughters as they did so. The girls watched the car drive away through the windows as tears began to stream down Molly's cheeks again. Annie noticed this and bent down to her level, taking her hand gently.

"It's okay, Molly. We're going to have so much fun while Mom and Daddy are gone, I promise you. It will be like a vacation for us, too,"

Molly smiled through her tears. "Thanks, Annie. I love you,"

Annie ruffled her little sister's hair. "I love you, too, kiddo."

As she turned away from her sister to look at the large estate left for the two of them, she smiled. Yes, fun times were surely to be had.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I really hope you enjoy this chapter with Oliver and Grace on their honeymoon! I really enjoyed writing this and I love to read your reviews, it gives me motivation. The next chapter should be coming out fairly spon! Thanks for all the support so far!**

* * *

><p>Grace and Oliver's flight to the Caribbean arrived at nearly eleven, and the two of them were absolutely exhausted by that time. Traveling was tiring all in itself, but combining that, the wedding, and the reception was enough to make Grace want to fall into a coma for at least a couple days. She was thrilled to finally be Oliver's wife and to have these two weeks of uninterrupted time with him, but seeing how distraught her girls, especially Molly, were before they left almost made her decide to cancel the trip altogether. She wanted to have this time with Oliver, though, and she wouldn't ever admit it, she deserved it, too. It wasn't as if she didn't think the staff could handle the girls; she knew they were in the hands of the best care she could ever find, but it was Annie and Molly's first night away from their new parents and emotions had been running high already due to the wedding.<p>

Once inside the taxi to take them to their hotel, Grace leaned her head against Oliver's shoulder, barely able to keep her eyes open.

"Long day, huh?" He whispered, feeling her nod against him.

"The longest day ever," she declared, yawning. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her.

"We're almost there, dear. Just a couple more minutes before we can check in, get ready for bed, and sleep,"

"That sounds so nice right now, Oliver. You don't have any idea," she replied, her words trailing off as she finally gave out to exhaustion. Oliver looked down at his sleeping wife, smiled at her peaceful face and pulled her into a tighter embrace, deciding to take a small nap himself.

The taxi arrived at the hotel twenty minutes later and jerked to a stop, waking up the exhausted newlyweds. Oliver helped his bride out of the car, paid the driver, and the two went inside to check in. Grace sat down on a sofa in the lobby as Oliver went up to the front desk.

"Reservation for Warbucks," he told the young woman behind the desk.

"Ah, Mr. Warbucks! We are thrilled to have you and your wife stay here for your honeymoon. We have reserved the presidential suite for you and have taken the liberty in supplying wine and chocolate for the two of you. I hope you enjoy your stay," she said, smiling and holding out the room key.

"Thank you very much. I'm sure we'll put good use to that," he took the room key and smiled at her before going back over to Grace and gathering their suitcases.

"Are we all checked in?" She asked and he nodded.

"We can go to sleep very soon, my dearest." He said as he led them to the staircase. They walked up the five flights of stairs to their room, knocking them out of breath as they did so. Soon, they were at their room door and Oliver opened it, exposing the large suite just for the two of them. Grace turned the light on and walked over to the bed immediately, flopping down onto it.

"I just want to go to bed, Oliver. I'm so tired," she muttered and he chuckled, coming over and pulling her up and kissing her deeply.

"Lucky for us, we can sleep in as late as we please. No little girls to come and wake us up," he whispered and she smiled at this, kissing him back.

"Yes, that is quite definitely a plus. Do you think I should call the mansion and check in on them? Do you think they fell asleep all right?" She asked, becoming more awake now as she worried about the girls. Oliver shook his head, smiling.

"Grace, darling. You need to let staff worry about the girls for these next two weeks. I'm sure that they are perfectly fine. They have each other, remember?"

Grace nodded, knowing Oliver was right and that she needed to let it go. "I know," she sighed, "but Molly, she was just so upset and you know how she has nightmares. What if she's keeping the house up?"

"Molly is fine, sweetheart, and so is Annie. I promise you that no harm will come to them if we just focus on ourselves for a change," he replied, kissing her cheek. "Come along, my dear, let's get ourselves ready for bed. Tonight is a very special night,"

Grace raised her eyebrow. "Oh, really? And why is that?" She asked, following him into the bathroom. He turned and smiled to her.

"It's the first night we'll share a bed, Grace. Maybe another first for us," he smirked and Grace's jaw dropped open at his innuendo, shocked that the businessman she had worked for for six years had just so very plainly said he wanted to have her in the most intimate way.

"Maybe so." She replied coyly as she unzipped her suitcase and took out the thinnest nightgown she had packed. She changed into it discretely in front of Oliver as he changed into a pair of silk pajamas before they both brushed their teeth and climbed into bed. Oliver wrapped his arm around Grace as they lay in the dark, each listening to the other's even breathing.

She had her arm in the crook of his elbow, completely at ease for the first time in what seemed like forever. Just as about Oliver was to make the first move on his beautiful bride, he heard a soft snoring from below his neck. He looked down and found her completely out, face as peaceful as ever. He smiled, content to have her in his arms like this for the first time ever and fell asleep, as well.

* * *

><p>The two ended up sleeping for a full thirteen hours, waking up around noon the next day, which was the latest either of them had ever been allowed to sleep in for the longest time. Grace woke before her husband and she smiled up at him, realising she'd never left his embrace the night before. She watched him sleep for around ten minutes before he stirred, wearily blinking as he began to get used to the sunlight. He looked at the clock on the nightstand and his eyes widened when he saw what time it was.<p>

"Grace, it's nearly one in the afternoon! Why didn't you wake me?" He asked, completely flustered and not remembering that they were on vacation.

"Darling, you don't need to wake up, and well, you looked pretty adorable," she said and he smiled as he remembered that they were, indeed, on their honeymoon.

"I could say the exact same about you. Happy honeymoon," he said as he leaned in for a kiss. She smiled at him.

"I suppose we should go on and face the day, no?" She asked and he thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Not necessarily, Grace. It's not exactly like we have anyplace to be or anything to do, is it? We could stay here all day if we wanted. We have room service, they can bring us up our food,"

Grace propped herself up on her elbows, smiling at this idea. "I like the way you think, Oliver. We don't have to do anything today. We can relax," she sighed in contentment. "That's so nice."

He nodded. "It really is," he replied and Grace sat up fully.

"I should call home. I promised the girls we would call when we arrived," she said as she picked up the phone from the bedside table. He smiled.

"I miss them," he said and Grace patted his hand.

"Me, too," she replied as she dialled the number for the mansion. The phone rang twice before Mrs. Pugh picked up. Grace spoke to her for a few minutes before the phone was passed onto Annie, and then Molly. She smiled as she talked to her daughters, missing them terribly as she did. She hung up the phone ten minutes later, smiling sadly at her new husband as she came over and sat down with him in the bed, caressing his bare chest.

"How are they doing?" He asked and she chuckled.

"They're fine. Mrs. Pugh said Molly was crying for us last night and she had a little trouble falling asleep, but she eventually gave out around ten. Annie was saying the Asp was going to take them to the movies later on and Molly was really excited to hear my voice. I miss them so much,"

He smiled up at his wife. "I do, too, but this is our time. We should take advantage of it. Who knows when the next time we'll have two weeks to ourselves will be?"

She nodded. "I'm famished, though. I haven't eaten since dinner last night,"

He smiled and picked up the phone from the bedside table, calling room service. "Our food will be delivered for us, my dear. We don't have to go anywhere today and we can eat like queens. We can just stay in this nice bed all day long,"

Grace chuckled and lay down next to him, snuggling into the crook of his elbow again. "Is this what it feels like to be truly happy?" She asked and felt him nod against her head.

"It's an odd feeling, isn't it? Happiness, I mean,"

"Yeah. I've been so focused on work for the longest time, so it's almost like I feel...empty not having anything left to do. I'm not used to being told to relax,"

He let out a loud laugh. "We are much more alike than I thought, Grace. I feel the exact same way,"

* * *

><p>The rest of the day was spent quite leisurely. The couple had their lunch delivered to them and they ate whilst watching black and white movies on the television in their room. After lunch, they reluctantly decided to leave their room and go downstairs and enjoy the hot tub in the back of the hotel, glad to just be in the embrace of one another. They decided to actually eat at a restaurant for dinner and went back to their room around five to shower. They left their room and went downstairs to the hotel lobby, intent on going to s fancy restaurant Grace had read about before leaving. She happened to catch a glimpse of the bar as they were leaving and did a double take as she glanced at one of the customers. Surely this was not the man she was thinking of. Never in a million years would she have expected to see him again, especially not on her honeymoon in the Caribbean.<p>

"Grace? Is something wrong?" Oliver asked, watching her gaze. She chuckled anxiously and looked up at him.

"Everything's just fine. I just realised I forgot something in our room. Why don't you go out and get a limo for the two of us and I'll meet you in a few minutes?" She asked, smiling and he nodded, not quite believing her quick lie, but deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt. He would find out eventually.

"All right. I'll have the driver pull the car up to the entrance," he replied, kissing her cheek and turning to leave the hotel. Grace let out a sigh of relief and went up to the man in the bar, half hoping to be wrong about who she thought it was. She tapped the man's shoulder.

"Dad?"

The man looked up, disheveled hair, a messy goatee and a glass of scotch in his hand. When he saw the woman standing in front of him, his eyes widened. "Grace? Is that you?" He asked, incredulous.

Seeing him for the first time in what seemed like forever brought tears to her eyes and she nodded, sitting down next to him and taking his hand. "It's me, Dad. What are you doing here?"

He chuckled. "I should be asking the same of you. I'm, uh, taking a little vacation. Things were getting rough at home. I needed to get away. What are you doing here?"

"I'm, uh, on my honeymoon, Dad. I just got married. Yesterday, actually." She smiled a watery smile at him and his eyes widened again.

"Honeymoon? Oh, Grace, that's wonderful! Wow," he chuckled, not expecting to hear that she was married, "Well, who's the lucky guy?"

"Oliver Warbucks." She replied, smiling a bit as she words rolled off her tongue. Again, her father's eyes widened.

"O-Oliver Warbucks? The richest man in the world?" He asked, barely able to get the words out. She nodded.

"The richest man in the world. Listen, Dad, I've got to get going, but I would love to talk to you before you leave. I think," she sighed, "I think we have a lot we need to work out,"

The older man nodded and kissed her forehead. "It's good to see you so happy, Gracie. I can tell by the look in your eyes that this man is a lifesaver,"

She smiled again and got up from the seat. She went out to the front of the hotel and found her and Oliver's limo in front. The door was swung open and she slid in next to her husband, who looked at her quizzically.

"Everything alright, dear?" He asked, taking her hand. She looked up at him and nodded, knowing that she was going to have to tell him later about who she ran into, but not wanting to ruin their moment.

"Perfect. Everything's perfect," she replied, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Everything's perfect."

He knew that she was lying, but he again decided that whatever it was would be brought to his attention sooner or later. Grace had never been one to keep secrets from him, even when she was just his secretary. They arrived at the restaurant and were seated in what the waitress called the "best seat", which was next to the fireplace. Oliver looked around at the place and was impressed by all the decorations it had to offer, commenting on certain things he noticed to Grace. He could tell she was distracted and knew it had nothing to do with the interior design of the place.

"Grace, honey? What is it?" He asked, taking her hand once their food had arrived. Grace snapped back from whatever she was thinking about and looked at him.

"Oh, Oliver. That man I was staring at? Do you know who he was?"

Oliver put down his fork, sensing that this next sentence was going to be a shock to him. "I'm afraid I don't, darling. Who was it?"

She chuckled uneasily, a sob escaping from her mouth. "My father, Robert Farrell. My father, Oliver, of all people." she replied, tears beginning to brim in her eyes.

"Oh, Grace, darling. What's wrong? I thought that would make you happy,"

She shook her head. "I am happy, Oliver, but at the same time, I'm not. My dad and I have had a very rocky relationship ever since I was twelve, when my mother died. He wasn't the dad that you could go to and be able to talk to about everything. He wasn't like you are with the girls. He was stubborn and he was judgemental. After Edward died, he tried to be there for me more, but I told him he was fourteen years too late and pushed him away. Seeing him today, it brought back a lot of memories and feelings I haven't felt in years,"

"That's got to be hard, Grace. I'm sorry," he squeezed her hand. "Whatever you want to do, though, we are going to do it together. I want you to lean on me,"

Grace smiled at him. "Thank you, Oliver. I don't know how I would be able to go on without you,"

"Well, don't worry about that. You're stuck with me for the long haul, my dear. At least until the girls go off to University, that is,"

She laughed through her tears and kissed his hand. "I love you,"

"I love you more," he replied. She shook her head.

"Not possible." She said and he chuckled.

"What is it that you want to do? About your father, I mean?" He asked and she sighed, shaking her head again.

"I need to talk to him, Oliver. He's my father, and I want to have him around, for the girls more than anything else. They deserve to have a grandfather, even if we aren't on good terms. I want to be in good terms with him, of course, but I'm afraid I've damaged our relationship too much. I'm afraid we can't fix it,"

"Grace, listen to me. He's your father. If either of the girls were to, God forbid, go through something like you have and reacted the way you did, would you push them away later on?"

"Of course I wouldn't, Oliver. They're my daughters. I'll always be there for them."

"Why do you think your father would feel any different? I don't know how bad your relationship was before Edward passed away but I'm sure that no matter what harsh words were exchanged, he will always love you and be there for you. He loves you, Grace."

"I hope you're right. I'm going to meet up with him either later on tonight or tomorrow to talk everything over. I want to have him in my life, Oliver. He's the closest I'll ever get to my mother,"

"I believe, Grace, that things that are meant to be will happen in due time, and I believe that even more now that we have Annie and Molly in our lives. It might take some time, but if it's meant to be, you and your father will make up."

She nodded as she began to eat her dinner. "Thank you so much, Oliver. I'm sorry for ruining our trip with all this nonsense,"

"Grace, darling, if this is important to you, then it's not nonsense. I am happy to help you,"

* * *

><p>The two finished their dinner rather slowly as they talked more and more about what Grace's relationship with her father and what it was like in the years leading up to her coming to work for him. They finally left the restaurant by nine, a whole two hours after they had arrived and Grace was emotionally drained. She had cried more during that dinner than she had in over a year, combined. Oliver led her out of the restaurant and had his driver drive them to the beach. When they stepped out of the limousine, Grace was surprised to be at the beach instead of the hotel.<p>

"Oliver, what are we doing here?" She asked, confused.

"Having the night of our lives, my love," he replied as he took off his dress shoes and set them on the sand before walking into the clear blue ocean, illuminated by the moonlight, tuxedo and all.

"Oliver! You're going to ruin your suit!" Grace called out, open mouth at her husband's actions. He laughed and turned back to her, his smile shining.

"So? I have twenty more!" He replied, wading further and further in. She shook her head and took off her heels, joining him. The dress she was wearing wasn't all that important, anyways. He smiled at her once she was right behind him and extended his hand, pulling her in close.

"This, my dear, is what it feels like to be truly in love." He said softly as he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around her neck and let the kiss become deeper and deeper.

"Thank you, Oliver. For everything you've done for me. I love you more than words can express," Grace said once they broke for air. He caressed her hair.

"Anything for you, my dearest. Anything for you."

They stayed in the ocean for a half hour more, laughing and having the most fun either had had in ages. They had fun with the girls back at home, of course, but this was different. They were more free in with each other and if anyone had told Grace s mere two months ago that she would be in the Caribbean in a dress and in the ocean with her boss, she would've checked them into the nearest mental hospital.

That was what she loved most about her relationship with Oliver. Most people took years upon years to truly get to know one another to the point where they wanted to get married, but the two of them had taken only a couple days, really. Their romance was a whirlwind, and in the best way possible. They were so much alike that it was almost like they were the same person, sometimes. Of course, Oliver had his temper and Grace had her sweet temperament, but other than that, they were so much alike.

They got back into the limo, still dripping wet, but laughing all the while. The driver looked at them as if they were insane, obviously not used to driving such rich men who would wade into an ocean with their clothes on as a leisurely activity. When Oliver caught a glimpse of his expression, he let out another laugh.

"Excuse my childish behaviour, sir. It seems that I've been around my daughters for too long," he said and Grace giggled at this, knowing this would definitely be something the girls would want to do.

"It's been a good time, though. You must admit that,"

"I agree. Nothing like going into the ocean so late at night," his eyes twinkled with laughter as he ordered the driver to drive them back to the hotel. They quickly headed upstairs once inside, shivering cold now with the wet clothes on their bodies. Once changed into nightclothes they climbed into bed, though neither was very tired.

"I don't even know what room he's staying in," Grace said suddenly, as the two were laying in silence and thoughts about her father was coming back to her.

"Hmm?" Oliver asked.

"My father. I don't know what room he's staying in. How am I going to find him again? It's not like this place is that small." She scrambled out of his embrace and sat up, pulling on her robe.

"Grace, where are you going? It's nearly ten thirty!" Oliver said.

"He might to be downstairs still. I need to find him. I need to talk to him," she replied as she leaned down to kiss him. "I might be back late. This could take awhile,"

"Well, you're not going in that, are you?" He asked and she shook her head.

"I'll change, dear. Don't worry," she replied as she went into the bathroom and changed into a simply elegant dress before going back into the room and kissing Oliver goodbye once more. She took the elevator and went downstairs to the bar, where, sure enough, her father was still sitting, but with a glass of Coca-Cola now. She sighed when she saw the awful state he looked to be in and sat next to him.

"Grace, hi. How was your dinner?" The man asked and Grace smiled.

"It went really well. I had a really good time," she replied. "Can we talk tonight? I want to get everything out into the open as soon as possible,"

He nodded and downed the last of his drink before calling the bartender over so he could pay. Before he could say anything, though, Grace spoke for him.

"Put it on the bill for Warbucks," she said as she stood up and helped Robert up with her. They walked over to the elevator, far enough away from each other that it was evident there was something heavy in the air between them. Robert took his daughter up to his room, which was far shabbier than the room she was staying in. She cringed at how dirty the room was, feeling awful he had to stay in a place like this.

"Have a seat, please," he said, taking a seat of his own on the bed.

"Thank you," she replied as she sighed.

"Grace, I think we need to first establish what we want to benefit from this conversation. Last time we talked, it seemed pretty clear you wanted nothing to do with me again. Is that how you still feel?"

Grace shook her head, tears beginning to prick at her eyes already. "No, Dad. That's the opposite of what I feel, actually. I don't think I need to tell you I was bitter when," she gulped, "when Edward died and I'm sure that there are a million ways I could have handled everything better, but I think you understand. Edward was the love of my life and in two seconds he was gone forever. It was hard. And now I appreciate beyond belief how much you and the rest of the family wanted to be there for me. I just wished I had realised that sooner. I don't want to have ruined our relationship, Dad. I want you in my life again and I want you to be there for me as I enter this next phase of life," she replied and her father's eyes softened as he nodded.

"Of course, Grace. I want all that and I've wanted that for years. I don't want you to ever think you ruined our relationship, because I fully understand. I wasn't there when Mom died, not the way you needed me, and when you were going through something ten times as rough, you didn't want my help anymore. It hurt, of course, but I'm over it and I would be honoured to be apart of your life and to meet your husband and to see you have kids of your own,"

Grace smiled at the mention of children and chuckled. "Actually, Dad, I have one more surprise for you. Oliver and I have two daughters together."

Robert's mouth dropped open, fully shocked at this. "H-how? How long have you two been together? Didn't you just get married?"

She laughed again at her father's questions and nodded. "We did, but our girls are adopted. Annie is ten and Molly is six. Annie is the reason Oliver and I are together, actually. I worked for him as his secretary and the press wanted to have pictures of him sharing his home with an orphan, so I went and brought Annie to his mansion. Well, what was supposed to be just a week long visit turned into Oliver falling in love with her and deciding to adopt her. He then confessed his attraction for me. Molly was like Annie's little sister at the orphanage and Oliver and I fell in love with her, too, so we decided to adopt her," She smiled wistfully, missing the girls terribly as she thought about them.

Robert whistled in astonishment. "Wow. My little girl having little girls of her own. Never thought this day would come so soon," he chuckled, "I would love to meet them one day ."

"And I would love for you to meet them. I'm sure they would be thrilled to get the chance to know their grandfather," Grace smiled, "I've really missed you, Dad. I know that it's going to take us some time to heal, but I want to try and fix our relationship. I'm sorry for how distant I've been,"

Robert shook his head and took his daughter's hand. "Grace, I want you to listen to me. No matter what you said or will say, no matter what you did or will do, I love you. I will always be here for you. There's nothing in this entire world that can ever change that. I chose not to talk to you all these years because it was what you wanted. It hurt like hell not to have you in my life, but it was your choice and your decision and I needed to respect that. And now, I am going to respect what you want again, and I would be more than happy to meet your husband and meet your little girls."

Grace got up from her seat and hugged her father for the first time in over six years. The embrace felt so familiar to grace and it brought her previously unshed tears down her cheeks as Robert stroked her hair.

"Grace, I love you," he whispered and she pulled from back the embrace, smiling warily at him.

"I love you, too, Dad," she replied. The two hugged again and held this embrace for a couple minutes before Grace pulled back again.

"Dad, I need to ask you something." She asked and Robert's eyebrows furrowed with concern now as he nodded, slowly and cautiously.

"Of course, Grace. What is it?

"Why didn't you ever try to be there for me after Mom died, Dad? I know it hurt you a lot and I know you loved her so much, but how could you just leave me to fend for myself? I was twelve, Dad,"

Robert sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "Your mother was the love of my life, Grace. She was the one thing in my life that was good no matter what. I couldn't accept the fact she was gone and not being there for you when she died is my single greatest regret. I wish I could have done things differently, but the truth is, that's how I reacted. And I'm sorry, Grace."

Grace sighed. "I want to say it's fine, but Dad, it's not. I had to do so much for myself. I understand grief and I understand pain, but I was your daughter. You needed to be there for me. You needed to take care of me and help me through Mom's death,"

"Grace, the grief was real for me, too. I had never dealt with a loss before and I know that's a horrible excuse, but what good is arguing about it now going to do? Those wounds are over fifteen years old,"

Grace nodded at this. "I know. I don't want to start anything between us, now that you're finally in my life again. I just, I had to ask."

"Well, I'm glad you did," Robert smiled and Grace glanced at the clock on the wall.

"I should get going, Dad. It's getting late and Oliver is no doubt worried about me. I would love to have breakfast with you, though. Would you meet us at the restaurant here around nine thirty?"

Robert's eyes softened at this offer and nodded. "That would be very nice. Thank you," he said and Grace smiled as she got up from her seat. Robert got up, too, and walked her to the door.

"It was good seeing you again, Grace. I'm glad that we could talk things over. I'm looking forward to meeting your husband tomorrow morning," he said and she kissed his cheek.

"I love you, Dad." She whispered and he smiled.

"I love you, too, Grace,"

She left the room and walked over to the elevator, what had just happened finally sinking in for her. After Edward had died and she had had it out with her father, she was ready to cut ties with her family forever, knowing that she had damaged things badly. It was almost surreal to her that she did have her father back in her life now, she had gone so long without him in her life. It was a good kind of surreal, though, just as it was when Oliver had proposed to he and when the girls had been adopted.

She was back in the hotel room three minutes later and found her new husband seemingly asleep, in a sitting up position, with his head up against the headboard. Grace smiled when she saw him and sat down on the bed, caressing his chest lightly. Oliver opened his eyes at the contact and smiled.

"How did it go?" He asked sleepily.

"It went really well, actually. Dad and I sorted things out and I invited him to have breakfast with us tomorrow morning. He really wants to meet you. He was surprised when he heard that we have two daughters, though," she chuckled, "I miss them,"

Oliver took her hand and kissed it. "I'm sure they're going to enjoy all the stories we'll have for them when we return. But, yes, I miss them too."

"I'm so happy I found him, Oliver." She sighed in contentment, I truly believe that things happen for a reason now. How couldn't I, after all that happened with Annie and Molly? And now my dad. This can't be a coincidence,"

He nodded. "I think you're right, my dear. I also think that we should be getting to bed now. I'm tired," he chuckled, "Swimming in the ocean so late must have done it,"

She chuckled, turning out the lights and climbing under the covers next to him, much too tired to change into comfier clothes. Oliver put his arm around her, wrapping her in a warm embrace.

"I love you so much, Grace," he whispered into the darkness.

"I love you, too, Oliver. It's been a long day, but I'm glad I have you."

"You always will, my dear. Always,"

And with that, the two fell asleep, content to just be in the other's embrace.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: I am so very sorry for this taking so long to be posted. I had a very busy week with school (midterms are this upcoming week), so writing has not been my main focus and I just did not have very much inspiration for this chapter. I hope you enjoy what I have written, regardless, and thank you all so much for reviewing. As a side not, I noticed a few of you were saying Grace and Oliver watching TV in the last chapter did not make much sense, but TVs were actually invented in 1927 and Oliver is very, very rich, so it made sense to me.

* * *

><p>The next morning Grace was up at nearly nine after a night of sleeping not as well as the nights before. She'd had a lot on her mind ever since her conversation with her father and while she was glad, overjoyed even, to have him back in her life, seeing him and talking to him after so long was emotionally draining for her. It brought back a lot of memories of both her mother and of Edward, but regardless, she was ready to have a relationship with him again and to have Oliver, Annie, and Molly meet him.<p>

Oliver was already awake when she opened her eyes and was watching her, a small smile upon his face. She smiled back when she saw him and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"Good morning, dear,"she said softly as he pulled her in close and kissing her back, on the lips this time. She chuckled when they broke apart.

"How did you sleep?" He replied and she shrugged.

"Good enough, I guess. I was up thinking a lot about my father."

"About what? Are you alright?" He asked, his prior sleepy tone becoming a concerned one. She nodded, chuckling again.

"I'm fine, Oliver. Seeing him again just brought back some memories of my mother and of Edward, but I can handle it. I'm really excited for you to meet him. I hope you two will hit it off,"

"If he's anything like you are, I'm sure we will, my dear," he said as he got up from the bed. He extended a hand to his wife. "Care to join me in the shower?"

At such a blunt question, Grace blushed. "Of course," she replied, smiling and taking his hand. They hopped into the shower together for about fifteen minutes and quickly got dressed as they were to be meeting Grace's father in just ten minutes.

Robert Farrell was sitting at a table when they arrived, drinking a glass of orange juice and glancing at his watch anxiously. He hated to be such a pessimist, but he honestly wouldn't be surprised if Grace had decided to bail on their breakfast together.

"Good morning, Dad," he heard about two minutes later and looked up to see his daughter, a smile on her face and her hand intertwined with a bald man at her side.

"Gracie, good morning!" He replied, getting up from his seat to kiss her cheek. She smiled and stepped backwards, letting go of what he assumed to be her husband's hand.

"Dad, I would like you to meet someone who I love very, very much. This is Oliver Warbucks, my husband," she said as Oliver came forward and extended his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Farrell. Grace has told me a lot about you," he said and Robert took his hand, shaking it gently.

"It's very much a pleasure to meet you, as well, Oliver. You and my daughter seem to be very happy with one another and I'm glad. She deserves the best."

"I agree with that very much," Oliver nodded and smiled, wrapping an arm around Grace. "Shall we eat?" He asked. Robert seemed to snap back out of the trance he was in from seeing his daughter so happy and nodded, pulling a seat back for Grace.

"Please, sit." He replied and Grace gratefully took a seat next to her husband. He smiled at the couple when they were seated, reaching over to take Grace's hand.

"Thank you both so much for inviting me for breakfast this morning. I understand that this is a bit awkward for all of us, but I would love to get to know you, Oliver, and perhaps meet your little girls one day."

"I think we could most certainly arrange that, Dad," grace replied, smiling at how timid her father seemed to be. "How long are you in the Caribbean for?"

"Only through this evening, I'm afraid. I've got to get back to the house and make sure old Mrs. Jones hasn't let all the plants and the cat wilt away to nothing,"

Grace,a jaw dropped open at this, surprised. "You still live at the house?"

"Of course I do. It's where you grew up and it's the first place I've ever owned. I'm attached to it, I suppose. I don't think anything could every get me to sell that house, because it's our home."

This wave of nostalgia brought a tear to Grace's eye. "Oh, Dad. I would love to come by and visit sometime. Is everything the way I left it?"

"Indeed it is. I haven't been in your room since at least a couple years ago. All your things are still there," he replied and Grace looked up to Oliver, pure happiness on her face.

"Oliver, did you hear that? We absolutely have to go someday. I can show you my old room from when I was a girl!" She said and he chuckled.

"That sounds like a treat," he replied and Robert smiled at the two of them.

"Well, I'm not sure what you two normally do for the holidays, but Thanksgiving has been pretty lonely without anyone to spend it with. I would love to have your family over," he said.

"And we would love to come over. As long as you let me cook the turkey,"

"I think I agreed to that after the year I burnt our turkey," he replied, chuckling heartily. "Where are you from, Oliver?" He turned to his new son-in-law.

"From Hell's Kitchen, sir. Nowhere special," Oliver replied, not used to calling others "sir", but feeling as if it were fitting for who he was speaking to. A waitress came up to take their drink order.

"A boy from Hell's Kitchen, huh? It's not that often people from that side of New York become as rich as you are. How did you do it?"

"Well, my younger brother died when I was very, very young because we couldn't afford the medicine to potentially save his life and from then on, I grew bitter. I left home a year later, at eleven, and worked my, excuse my language, ass off to get to where I am today. And now," he took Grace by the hand, "that I have this wonderful woman and our little girls, I couldn't be any happier."

"I'm so very happy for you," Robert said. "How long are you two in the Caribbean for?"

"For about two weeks. We have a staff of maids back at the mansion to take care of the girls while we're away, but I miss them a lot,"

Robert chucked. "Welcome to parenthood, Gracie. Always missing your children, even when they're right in front of you. That and the constant worrying,"

Grace smiled. "Does it at least get a bit easier as time goes on, once they're older?"

He shook his head. "It never gets easier, my dear. Even now, I worry about you. Last night, I was worried about you. Later today, I'll worry about you. It's just part of the territory with becoming a parent." He said wisely as their waitress came up to take their meal order.

"Have you talked to Mom's sisters at all lately?" Grace asked once she left and her father's eyes became downcast at the mention of his late wife.

"Actually, I haven't. After you left Connecticut, they blamed me for if and said if I had paid a little more attention to you, we wouldn't take be so estranged. Haven't heard from either of them since, and honestly, I don't very much care. I never liked them when your mother and I were together, so it's not so much of a loss for me. Have you?"

"I don't think they would know where to look for me, so no. I'm sorry they blamed it on you, though,"

Robert shook his head. "You don't need to apologise. They were right, it was my fault that you left, even if it was Edwards passing that led you to it. I had a job as a father and I didn't come close to doing it,"

Grace smiled halfway. "I don't blame you anymore, Dad. That's what matters. I love you,"

Robert's eyes softened at this. "I love you, too, Gracie." He replied, squeezing her hand gently.

Breakfast ended about an hour later and once they were back in the hotel room, Grace let out a sigh of relief that things had gone much better than she had expected. She knew that her husband was very easy to anger and was worried that Robert would say something to upset Oliver, but the two seemed to hit it off fairly well.

It was nice to have a conversation with her father that didn't end up with any harmful feelings coming up for a change. That didn't happen very often and she now had something to look forward to as the holidays approached. She hadn't had a proper thanksgiving since before Edward passed away and now she was going back to her childhood home in Connecticut to introduce the girls to her family. She was just going to miss her father these next few months when she wouldn't see him. It seemed almost unfair that she finally had him back in her life and they were going to be separated so soon. She had invited him for Annie's birthday in October, but she wasn't sure he would take her up on the offer.

"I think that went very well," Oliver commented back in the room as he came up behind Grace and kissed her neck. She nodded.

"I agree. I'm glad that you two hit it off so well," she replied and he smiled.

"I told you, if your father was anything like you, that we would have no problem getting along. Now, here is the important question of the day. What do you want to do today?"

She thought for a moment before looking up at him again. "Would you like to go back to the ocean? I had a lot of fun yesterday,"

"I think that is most certainly doable, my dearest. Let me go and get changed and we can go in a couple minutes," he said, beginning to cross over to their suitcase, but being pulled back by the hand.

"I don't think we necessarily need to change, dear. What we have on right now is perfectly fine for me," Grace replied and he chuckled, kissing her.

"Alright, then. I guess we can get going," he said and wrapped his arm around Grace, leading her to the door. They walked down the staircase and to the lobby, where Oliver had a limousine called for them. He had the driver take them to the beach they were at the night before and Grace immediately walked into the ocean, waist deep when Oliver was just walking in.

"Come on, slowpoke!" She called out to him playfully as he swam towards her.

"Who're you calling slowpoke, huh?" He said and she laughed, the very laugh he had fallen deeply in love with the day he met her.

"You, Oliver. Did you see how far in I was when you came in? You need to get a move on, old man!"

He laughed, too, and kissed her. "Old man, am I? Maybe you should remember that this old man is your husband! I agreed to love and cherish you, not be, as you say, fast!"

"I suppose it's not fair of me to expect you to do as much as I," she replied teasingly.

"Now, you watch it," he warned, a teasing tone in his voice as well, coming in closer.

She kissed him again. "Thank you, Oliver," she said softly and he looked down at her, confusedly.

"For what?" He asked.

"For saving me."

* * *

><p>The next few days passed by rather leisurely, something neither Grace or Oliver were very much used to. They spent the majority of the time in their bedroom, listening to radio programs or doing some other fun things, which, if asked by anyone else, would be described as simply playing checkers. Grace scheduled relaxing couple massages for them nearly every afternoon and they often went back to the beach for fun, as well. It was nice for the two of them to just do nothing for once, when usually their lives were so full of hustling around to get their work done. Now, though, they had nothing to do; nowhere to be and nobody to see. That wasn't to say that they did nothing every day, though. Grace had arranged an afternoon picnic cruise one day and they spent the whole day on it, together and enjoying the beautiful sights of the Caribbean. They arrived back at the hotel around six that evening and Oliver decided to take a shower before they went down to eat.<p>

When he got out he found his wife sitting down on the bed, looking as if she were concerned about something g, which, in turn, made him concerned himself.

"Grace, darling? What's the matter?" He inquired, sitting down beside her. She looked up at him and he could tell she was very close to bursting into tears.

"I'm a horrible, horrible mother, Oliver," she said softly, her tears finally falling down onto her cheeks. He gasped at this sudden outburst and pulled her in close.

"Oh, darling. You most certainly are not a horrible mother. Why do you say that?" He asked.

"Mrs. Pugh just called me to tell me how the girls were and she said that Molly was quite upset at bedtime tonight because I wasn't there to tuck her in. Apparently, she was trying to calm her down for almost three hours before she gave out and finally fell asleep. Not only do I feel awful for making poor Mrs. Pugh have to calm her down, but I feel like I should be the one to be there for Molly. It sounds like she's having a really hard time without us,"

Oliver sighed and looked at his wife. "Grace, darling, listen to me. You are not a horrible mother for wanting to have the honeymoon that you deserve. I know that you feel like you need to be there for the girls all the time, and I love you for it, but you need a life, too."

"I know," she sighed, too, "I know, and I'm so glad to have this time with you here, but all I really want to do right now is go home and be with the girls. I know we have four more days of vacation left to enjoy, but I really feel like I need to go home," she smiled sadly. I'm sorry."

Oliver kissed her forehead. "If that's what you want to do, darling, then you have nothing to be sorry for. I miss the girls, too, and I honestly wouldn't mind going back sooner. If you're sure that's you want to go back home, then we will go back home."

"That's what I want. I'm sure," Grace declared.

"Alright, then I'll make a few phone calls and arrange for us to go home tomorrow. I'm a bit hungry, though, are you?" He asked and she nodded, standing. They went downstairs to the hotel's restaurant, ate a short dinners and went back to their room to turn in for bed, both exhausted.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Grace was up early so she could make arrangements for their trip back home as soon as possible. She wanted to leave as early as they could so that there would be a greater likelihood of them being home before the girls went to bed. She wanted to be home to tuck them in and to hopefully spend some quality time beforehand. The earliest she could get a private jet for the day was around noon, which, if all went well, would ensure their homecoming to be around five. Oliver woke up around nine to find his wife had laid out his outfit for the day already and packed everything else away.<p>

"You really miss home, don't you?" He asked, chuckling at the fill to brim suitcases.

"Yeah, I do. The plane is set to leave around noon," Grace replied and coming over to kiss him. "It will be really good to see the girls tonight. I've missed them so much,"

Oliver smiled and sat up. "I have, too. I suppose I should be getting up now, yes?" He asked reluctantly and she smiled, nodding. He sighed and stood up walking into the bathroom to get ready.

A busy forty five minutes later, they were all ready for they day and they went downstairs to the front desk in order to check out. Afterwards, they grabbed breakfast on their way to the airport and sat, anxiously waiting for their plane to arrive.

Grace and Oliver arrived back at the mansion at nearly midnight, which was much later than either one had intended to be back. Annie and Molly usually went to bed around eight thirty or nine and the whole reason Grace had decided to leave so early on in the day was so she could be home in time to tuck the girls in. Of course, like was typical of all plans, there was a couple things that didn't go as smoothly as they had hoped and their plane ended up taking off an hour and a half later than it was supposed to. Grace had wanted to surprise the girls tonight, but it seemed like there would be no such luck.

Inside the mansion, almost every hallway was dark, almost every light was dim, and the hall where the girls' bedrooms were was weakly lit by a night light. Grace checked in on Annie first and a smile crept upon her face when she saw the little girl completely out and oblivious to the world, light snores escaping from her nose. Grace leaned down to kiss her forehead and left, crossing the hallway to Molly's bedroom. The six -year-old was curled up in a pile of blankets with her favourite teddy bear in one arm and her thumb in her mouth. Grace chuckled when she saw her daughter and she leaned down beside the bed to kiss her goodnight. A small smile appeared upon Molly's face at the contact and subconsciously, she reached her her out for her mother, who took her hand and squeezed it gently,

"Mommy," Molly mumbled softly, still asleep.

"Yes, sweetheart. Mommy's here. Mommy is back and she's never going to leave you again." Grace replied, whispering, as she kissed the girl's cheek. She sat and watched the little girl for around fifteen minutes before being satisfied that Molly was sleeping peacefully and went to her and Oliver's new suite. Oliver was in the bed already, sitting up and waiting for his wife. He smiled when he saw her.

"How were the girls?" He asked and she smiled back, feeling relieved for the first time in over a week to be finally back with her little girls and see with her own eyes that they are safe.

"Both sleeping peacefully. I can't wait to see their faces when they see us tomorrow morning. I don't know which one will be more excited." She came over and sat next to him in the bed, leaning into his welcoming embrace. He stroked her hair.

"I'm just ready to get back to being a family. I guess we should go to sleep, though. You know how early they wake up,"

Grace chuckled and nodded. "It's still going to be nice to see them tomorrow," she replied as she climbed under the covers. Oliver lay down beside her and kept her in his embrace as they both fell into an exhausted, well-deserved sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning, the couple rose around seven in the morning, determined to be in the dining room before the girls. Mrs. Pugh seemed to let out a sigh of relief when she caught sight of her employers, knowing that they would be able to be s comfort to the girls. She began to make pancakes at their request and the newlyweds ate quickly, anxious to see their daughters after being apart for so long.<p>

Around eight, they heard the pattering of little feet on the carpet leading up to the dining room, excited chatter accompanying it.

"Annie, Mama was in my dream last night!" They heard Molly exclaim excitedly, "she was back from her honeymoon and everything. She was really here, Annie! I miss her."

Annie smiled down at her sister as they walked into the room. "They'll be back soon, Molly. Only a couple more days until they're back," she replied as she looked up to see her parents sitting at the table and smiling widely at them. The redhead's jaw dropped open.

"Mom! Dad!" She exulted. "You're back!"

Molly looked up at this and gasped when she saw her parents. She ran over to them and into Grace's open arms, bursting into tears. Grace pulled the little girl up onto her lap and held her tight.

"Mama, you're back," the six-year-old whispered to her mother and Grace looked down at her, smiling.

"Yes, darling, I am back. Mama's here now," she said softly and kissed the little girl's forehead. "I missed you,"

Molly sniffled. "I missed you, too, Mommy. I love you," she replied, smiling back at Grace, who wiped away the remaining tears on her cheeks.

"I love you, too, sweetheart. Did you girls have a good time while we were gone?"

Annie smiled at her parents and nodded. "Oh, Mom, we had a lot of fun. We played tag and hide-and-seek and we baked cookies and stayed up late! I missed you a lot, though," she recalled and Grace chuckled at her everlasting excitement.

"I'm sure that you did, darling," she looked down at the younger of the two girls. "What about you, baby? Did you have a good time?"

Molly's tears began to well up again and she shook her head. "I missed you so much, Mama. I thought you guys left us, forever. I thought me and Annie were orphans again." She confessed, her soft tears becoming wails as she buried her head in her mother's chest. Grace, at a loss for what to do, pulled the little girl in closer and let her cry until her sobs turned into sniffles.

"Molly, darling, I want you to listen to me," she said when her daughter had calmed down a bit, "Your Daddy and I love you and your sister very, very much and we never in a million years would ever dream of leaving you. You are our special little girls, forever and for always. Do you understand?"

The little girl looked up at this, slowly, and nodded. "I understand, Mama. I'm sorry," she replied ashamedly.

"You don't have to apologise, darling, I can understand why you thought Daddy and I would leave you, but I want you," she glanced at the older of the two girls, "and Annie to know that you are precious gifts to us and that we would never in a million years leave you."

Molly smiled and Grace wiped away some more of her tears. "Now, why don't you go eat? I bet you're hungry," she said and Molly nodded again, hopping off her lap and going to sit next to her sister. Mrs. Pugh brought out plates of pancakes for them and they began to eat as they asked their parents numerous questions about their trip, which they took to heartily.

"Did you guys go in the ocean at all?" Annie asked at one point and Grace had to force herself to bite back her laughter as she glanced at her husband, who gave her a knowing look.

"Yes, darling, we did. The water was so beautiful and so clear. You girls would have had the best time," he replied and Annie smiled at this.

"Can we go to the beach later on this summer? I've never been," she replied and Grace reached over to tousle her hair.

"I'm sure that we could do that, darling. I missed you both very much,"

"Mama, did you bring us back any presents?" Molly asked excitedly and Oliver chuckled at her question.

"We did, actually. I think you girls will be very pleased with what we brought back." He replied and rose from the table to bring i. The suitcase that held the presents.

"Annie, we brought you back a dress that Mom found in a shop near the beach," Oliver said, pulling out the dress and handing it to rhe redhead.

"Oh, Mom, it's beautiful!" She breathed and got up to hug Grace. Molly stood excitedly by the suitcase, waiting to see what her souvenir was. Oliver smiled at the little girl as he handed a stuffed dolphin to her.

"Here you go, darling. I hope you like it," he said and Molly hugged the toy to her chest, smiling.

"Daddy, I love it! I love you! Thank you!" She exclaimed, hugged him tightly. He kissed the top of her head.

"I love you, too, darling. I'm glad you like it," he replied, letting the little girl out of the embrace. She excitedly went over to her mother to thank her, as well.

"I love you, Mommy," she said sweetly and Grace pulled her up on her lap again.

"Of course, my sweetest little girl. It was our pleasure," she replied, kissing the top of her forehead, glad to finally be back with her daughters after what seemed like an eternity apart.


	7. Chapter 7

Grace stood in front of her queen sized bed, sighing as she glanced over the piles of clothes that she had yet to pack, clothes that she somehow had to fit into three suitcases at most. It was nearly a month after Grace and Oliver had returned from their honeymoon and now she was packing for another trip, for the whole family this time, to Grace's hometown of Hartford, Connecticut. Robert had given his daughter his telephone number while they were in the Caribbean and the two of them had been having weekly conversations in order to keep their relationship strong when they were apart. On one of their phone conversations, Robert had mentioned the summers Grace had spent in Connecticut growing up and how much she loved the place, which got her to thinking about just how much she wanted the girls to go there one day. She had spoken to Oliver that night about wanting to visit in the near future and three days later, they had a train scheduled to go to Connecticut. Robert had no idea of their trip and Annie and Molly had no idea that they were going to be meeting their grandfather while there, so that made Grace all the more excited.

Oliver walked into the room and chuckled when he saw how stressed his wife looked, walking towards her and wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her ear.

"Having a rough time?" He whispered and she looked up, nodding.

"I never knew that four people could have so much clothes, Oliver. I'm about ready to call off this trip with all the packing I have to do! It's exhausting," she groaned, "What time is it?"

"Around two thirty. The girls are outside playing tag, which I'm sure you're thrilled about."

"I to,d them that they could play any game they wanted just as long as they didn't get sweat. And what time does our train leave?"

"Five thirty. What can I do to help?" Oliver broke the embrace and walked over to the other side of the suitcase, taking one of his shirts off a hanger.

"Lay out as much clothes as you think you'll need," she replied, picking up one of Annie's dresses. "I'm really excited to go back to Connecticut, Oliver. I can't wait for the girls to see where I grew up and to meet my faster. It's been so long since I've been there,"

Oliver smiled at this. "I can't wait to see it, either. Are we staying in the hotel tonight still?" He asked and Grace nodded.

"I figure by the time that we get into Connecticut it will be close to the girl's bedtime and if we go over to the house, my dad will keep them up trying to get to know them. They'll start to get tired and start to whine because of that and it will just be a nightmare for us all. This way they can get a good night's rest and be energised for tomorrow to meet him."

"Sounds like you've got everything figured out, my dear. Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky with such a smart, beautiful, woman like yourself."

Grace blushed as she folded another dress and stuck it into their second suitcase. "I know. How would you ever get along without me?" She replied and he leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"I wouldn't, my dear. I simply wouldn't,"

A busy three hours later, the couple was finally done with finishing last minute details for their trip and were finally ready to leave. Oliver went out to the Dussenberg to put their suitcases in the back while Grace went out to the mansion's gardens to retrieve the girls. She found the two of them sitting on a bench, taking a break from their playing to have some lemonade.

"Mom!" Annie exclaimed when she saw her mother walking towards them. "Are you done packing for our trip? Can we go now?"

"Actually, yes, darling. Daddy's just having Drake put our suitcases in the car right now. Are you girls ready?"

Molly hopped up excitedly. "I sure am! I've never been on a trip before, Mama!" She said and Grace chuckled taking her by the hand.

"I'm sure you're absolutely going to love this trip," she replied as Annie hopped up, as well, and took her other hand. The three of them joined Oliver back at the Dussenberg and were driven to the train station by Drake. They arrived just as the train was boarding and Oliver led them into the private cabin he had rented.

"Leaping lizards, this place is gigantic!" Annie exclaimed inside, looking up in amazement. "I can't believe how big this is!"

Grace chuckled as she sat down in a chair, exhausted from being on her feet since she woke up at eight thirty. Oliver smiled and sat down next to her, taking her hand in his as they watched Annie and Molly explore the train's cabin, mesmerised by the sheer size of it.

"Mama, this place is our whole house, but mini!" Molly said once she and her older sister had finished looking around, coming to sit down on Grace's lap. The woman smiled and kissed the top of the little girl's head.

"It sure is, sweetheart. Do you like the train?"

"Mama, it's really cool! I never knew that something so awesome existed!"

"It's really fun, too," Annie added as she crossed over to her father, hopping up onto his lap as well. "I wish we could go on a train everyday,"

Grace chuckled. "I'm glad you enjoy it, darling," she replied, glancing at her watch. "Are you girls getting hungry? It's nearly dinner time,"

Annie's eyes grew wide again at this question. "They serve dinner here? Leaping lizards, this place has everything!"

"Do they have a movie theatre too?" Molly asked, looking curiously up at her mother and the woman smiled, kissing her forehead.

"I don't think so, dear. Now," she set the little girl down on the floor and went over to the coffee table in the middle of the cabin, picking up the dinner menu, "what do you girls want to eat?"

Annie hopped off her father's lap and came up behind Grace, glancing at the menu and telling her mother what she wanted. Grace called to order dinner and then she and Oliver watched the girls make more and more observations about the cabin while they waited for their food to be brought to them.

Their train halted to a stop in Connecticut two hours later and by that time, the youngest member of the Warbucks clan had fallen asleep in her mother's arms, the gentle moving of the train lulling her to sleep. Annie was doing no better when the train stopped, her eyes half closed as she played chess with her father, who was letting her win the game.

"I think she's just about ready to give out," he whispered over her head as the little redhead set her head down onto the table and Grace chuckled as she stood up with Molly asleep in her arms. Oliver scooped Annie up into his and followed his wife to the door, asking one of the train attendants to take their luggage to the awaiting limousine. The small family arrived at their hotel twenty or so minutes later and Oliver quickly checked them in so that they could get the girls into bed as soon as possible. Once in the room, Grace set Molly down in one of the two full sized beds next to her older sister and tucked them both in so that they were safe and snug.

"Goodnight, my darling little girls," she whispered as she kissed each of them on their foreheads. Annie turned over on her side and began to snore lightly as Molly stuck her thumb into her mouth. Grace watched them sleep for a couple minutes, smiling widely before joining her husband in bed. He wrapped his arm around her protectively and she fell asleep, more exhausted than she ever remembered being.

* * *

><p>"Mama, wake up!" Molly whispered loudly the next morning as she crept up close to her mother's side of the bed. Grace woke up with a start at this and glanced at her alarm clock, sighing as she saw how early it was.<p>

"Molly, sweetheart," she whispered back, sitting up a little, "it's very early and I'm still a little tired. I know that you want to play and get started with our vacation, darling, but why don't you let me, Daddy, and Annie rest a little more?"

Molly's face fell at her mother's words and nodded quickly, trying not to let the tears that were very clearly lingering in her eyes from spilling out onto her cheeks as she turned away. Grace's heart tugged at this and she sighed again, knowing that she was waking up now whether she liked it or not.

"Molly, sweetheart, come back here," she whispered again, sitting up fully. Molly turned around again, tears coming down her cheeks rapidly now as she came back towards Grace.

"Oh, sweetheart, please don't cry," Grace said at this as she pulled Molly up onto her lap and kissed her temple softly. The little girl sniffled and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist.

"I just wanted you to play with me, Mama. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you,"

"I know, darling, I know. Don't be sorry. I'm just not a morning person, darling. But," she turned Molly's face towards her and smiled at the little girl, "I'm all ears now. What do you want to do?"

Molly's face lit up at this as she scrambled to grab her dolls and brought them back to her mother. "Do you want to play dolls with me, Mama?" She asked sweetly and Grace smiled again.

"I would love that, my dear,"

Together, the mother and daughter began to play, whispering softly as they did so as not to wake Annie and Oliver. Oliver woke around an hour later and smiled when he caught sight of his wife, playing with their daughter, who was completely engrossed in her dolls.

"Good morning, ladies," he whispered softly and Molly looked up, smiling when she saw her father awake.

"Good morning, Daddy!" She exclaimed, running to hug him. He chuckled heartily as he caught the excited little girl in his arms and kissed her forehead.

"I see that you're excited for vacation to start," he replied, smiling at his wife over Molly's head. Grace smiled back as Molly pulled back from the embrace and nodded.

"Daddy, can I wake Annie up? I'm really, really hungry!"

Oliver glanced at the clock and, seeing as it was nearly eight, nodded at her. "I suppose so,"

Molly smiled again and went over to the bed she had shared with her sister the night before and began to lightly shake the ten-year-old.

"Annie, wake up!"

Annie rolled over, startled, and smiled when she saw her little sister so excitedly waking her up. "Good morning, Molly. How did you sleep?"

"I slept really good, Annie! All these beds feel like fluffy clouds! You have to wake up now, Annie, I want to start our vacation already!"

Annie giggled at her sister's declaration and hopped out of bed. "Alright, Molly. Let's get started with our vacation," she replied as she walked towards one of the suitcases and pulled out a dress for herself. The redhead went into the bathroom to change and Grace came over to help Molly pick out an outfit for the day.

Within twenty minutes, the four of them were ready for the day and their suitcases were all packed so that they could check out, the girls still unaware of the fact they were going to visit Grace's childhood home. The three ladies of the family went to go order their breakfast while Oliver checked out for them.

"Mom, what are we doing today?" Annie asked excitedly as she began to eat her large pile of blueberry pancakes, bouncing up and down in her seat. Grace chuckled.

"Well, it turns out that your father and I actually have a surprise for you girls today," she replied and Annie's eyes nearly bulged out of her head.

"A surprise? What is it?"

Oliver chuckled now. "Darling, if we told you what it is, then it wouldn't be much of a surprise, would it?

Annie defeatedly shook her head. "But I want to know!"

"You will soon enough, sweetheart." Grace said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Annie fake pouted and went back to eating her breakfast.

"Is it a pony?" Molly inquired and Grace smiled.

"I'm afraid not, darling, but it's something equally as fun. That much I can promise you,"

"Is it the beach?" Annie asked now.

"No, darling, it isn't. You will find out soon enough, darling. If you ask, it will just ruin the surprise," Grace reasonably said.

"Aw, fine, Mom. I guess you're right,"

* * *

><p>An hour later, Oliver pulled up on the old gravel road that lead up to Robert's old Victorian country home at the direction of his wife. Annie craned her head up to look out the window and was confused by what she saw, not expecting something like this in the slightest.<p>

"Mama, where are we?" Molly asked, peering out the window, too.

Grace turned around from her place in the front seat to smile at her daughters. "Girls, this is where I grew up. This is my home,"

Annie's eyes bulged again. "Really?!"

Grace nodded, smiling wider just as Oliver parked before helping her out of the car and then the girls. Grace walked up the steps to the house and knocked on the door, memories flooding back to her like a moth to light. The large door opened and Robert Farrell stood in his doorway, a five o clock shadow and a glass of whiskey. His eyes, much like Annie's, widened when he saw the young woman in front of him.

"Grace? What are you doing here?" He asked in shock, setting the glass down on a table nearby.

"Hi, Dad," Grace replied, reaching out to hug him. "I hope I'm not coming at a bad time, but Oliver and I decided to bring the girls here to meet you before summer ends,"

"Don't be silly, Grace! You're always welcomed here," he replied, embracing her tightly and kissing her cheek. "I would love to meet those little girls of yours,"

Grace turned around and beckoned to Annie and Molly, who came forward. Grace wrapped an arm around each of them, smiling at her father.

"Annie, Molly, this is my father, Robert Farrell. Your grandfather," she said and Annie looked up in wide-eyed amazement.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Annie," the redhead said softly, extending her hand for Robert to shake. He took it and smiled widely at her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Annie. And who's this?" He asked, bending down towards the younger of the two girls, who inched closer to her mother and hid her face in her skirt, becoming shy all of a sudden.

"This is Molly," Grace replied, patting the little girl's back. "Say hi, sweetheart,"

Molly peeked her head out slightly. "Hi," she said softly.

Robert chuckled, the six-year-old's timidity reminding him of Grace at that age. "It's very nice to meet you, Molly," he said and she smiled slightly.

"I can't believe you guys came all the way here to visit me," he remarked to Grace, who chuckled and nodded.

"I thought it would be nice for the girls to come here and see everything. I know I've missed it,"

Oliver came up to the four of them, lugging the three suitcases they had packed. Robert hurried over and took two of them, leading them all into the house. Annie immediately caught sight of a school portrait of Grace and crossed over to it, picking it up.

"Woah, is this you, Mom?" The ten-year-old asked.

Grace came over and took the portrait, looking at it and nodding. "It is, darling. This is when I was in the eighth grade. I was thirteen here,"

Annie stared at it a while more as her little sister came up to look at it, amazed that her mother at one point had been so young. "Mommy, you were beautiful even then!" She exclaimed and Grace ruffled her hair.

"Thank you, darling. I'm glad that you think so," she replied as she picked the little girl up and kissed her cheek. Molly hugged her mother in pure happiness.

"So, Mama, this is where you grew up? Can we see your room?"

Grace chuckled and nodded. "I don't see why not, darling," she agreed and set the little girl down before taking both her girls by the hand. She led them up the wooden staircase and onto the second story, right to her bedroom that she hadn't been in since she left home. She opened the door and was welcomed with the smell of the perfume Edward bought for her shortly before their wedding. Annie stepped into the room, completely breathless at her mother's bedroom and all the clothes strewn on the floor. Molly immediately went over and picked up the China doll on a chair in the corner, cradling it as if it were her own. Grace smiled and came over next to Molly, kneeling down in front of her.

"My mama gave this to me, sweetie, and it used to be my favourite doll to play with. I almost forgot about her. Would you like to have her?"

Molly nodded quickly and Grace gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Then she's all yours, darling."

"What's her name, Mama?"

"I actually don't remember. I'm sure you'll make up a much better one than I could ever, anyways,"

"Mom, who's this?" Annie suddenly asked from across the room, holding up a photo of Edward that Grace had taken on the night they had gotten engage. Her breath caught when she saw it. It was the first time since the memorial service she had seen him.

"That was my first serious boyfriend, darling. His name was Edward and I loved him so, so much. I loved him almost as much as I love your Daddy."

Annie smiled at it. "What happened to him? Did you guys have a fight and break up?"

Grace walked over and took the photo frame, touching the photograph ever so gently, almost as if it were to crumble in her very hands. "I'm afraid that he passed away, sweetheart," she smiled weakly at the little girl, who hugged her mother at these words.

"I'm sorry, Mom," she said and Grace hugged her back, tighter.

"It's alright, darling. The way that I look at it, if he hadn't passed away, I wouldn't be here right now with two of the most amazing little girls on the planet,"

Annie smiled at her and broke the embrace, looking around at the room some more. "Your room was really pretty, Mom. Can I stay here tonight?"

Grace chuckled. "I see no reason why you couldn't, darling. I think it would be nice for you to stay here tonight," she replied as Molly came over to her mother and sister.

"Where am I staying, Mama?" She asked and Grace smiled down at her.

"Well, this house is pretty small and you could either stay in here with Annie or stay in the guest room with me and Daddy. Which do you prefer?"

"I wanna stay with Annie, she's fun!"

Grace chuckled again and ruffled her hair. "That's perfectly fine, darling. Now, why don't we go on and see what your father and grandfather are up to?"

She took each of the girls by the hand and led them downstairs and into the fairly large kitchen where she heard voices coming from. Robert was handing Oliver a cup of coffee when they walked in.

"I must say, Robert, I didn't realise that houses this small could be so...charming," the billionaire was telling his father-in-law, who chuckled.

"Yes, well this is what I call home. It was the first house I've ever lived in."

Annie was staring wide-eyed at how nice the kitchen was in pure amazement. "Grandpa, this house is so pretty," she commented and Robert chuckled.

"Thank you, Annie. I've always thought so myself. Would you care for a muffin?" He held out a plate of blueberry muffins and Annie gratefully took one, sitting down at the table and beginning to chow down on it. Robert smiled and walked over to Molly, who was standing close to Grace,maltose as if she was afraid to be around her grandfather.

"You know, Molly, your mother was very shy at your age," he held out a muffin to her, "Very much like yourself, always afraid to talk to strangers. But you don't have to be afraid of me, sweetheart. I don't bite,"

Molly smiled slightly and Grace took the muffin from her father, bending down in front of the six-year-old. "I promise you, darling, you have no reason to be so afraid." She reassured and Molly took the muffin precariously before going to sit down next to her sister.

Grace stood up and smiled up at Robert. "I'm sorry, Dad. I don't know what's gotten into her; she's not usually so distant from people."

Robert chuckled. "She's apprehensive of me. I get it. I'll just have to try and get her to talk to me,"

Grace hugged her father, "I'm glad that we're here, Dad. I think it will be good for us to bond some more,"

"I agree. And I'm excited to get to know these little girls of yours. They seem just delightful." he went to sit next to Annie, who had finished her muffin in two or three bites.

"Mom, what are we doing now?" The redhead asked curiously, craning her head up to look at her mother, who smiled as she came over.

"Well, when I was a girl, I used to love going to a lake nearby and going swimming during the summertime. Do you think that's something you would like to do?"

Annie's eyes lit up as she nodded excitedly. "Oh, Mom, that would be great!" She hopped up out of her seat and ran up the staircase, her little sister following close behind. Grace chuckled and kissed her father on his cheek.

"I love you, Daddy," she whispered and Robert smiled.

"And I, you, Gracie." He replied as Grace got up from her seat to get ready for the lake.

* * *

><p>By five in the evening, the family was ready to head back to Roberts home after a full six or so hours spent at the lake. Annie and Molly seemed to have an amazingly long energy span, not getting tired even though their parents and grandfather was absolutely exhausted. Robert took them out to dinner afterwards at a local restaurant at his insistence before they headed back to the house so Grace and Oliver could unpack their luggage and get the girls settled in for bed. Annie challenged her grandfather to a game of chess when she caught sight of his antique set and the older man heartily agreed, elated to finally have someone to spend time with after being alone for such a long time.<p>

"Alright, my loves, it's time for bed," Grace said an hour or so past Annie and Molly's bedtime, walking into Roberts living room and finding Annie on her fifth game with Robert and Molly playing with the China doll she had given to her earlier.

"No, Mama, please don't make me go to bed!" Molly protested when she heard this announcement and Grace bent down beside her.

"Oh, yes, I know. Bedtime is such a terrible thing, isn't it?" She replied and Molly nodded in agreement.

"It's the worst!"

"I'm sorry you feel the way, but that doesn't change the fact that you need sleep, little girl. Come on, go on and get ready. Both of you," she turned towards Annie, who reluctantly nodded as she rose from her chair and led her sister up the stairs. Robert chuckled.

"You've got quite the little girls," he remarked and Grace smiled.

"They're a handful, but I wouldn't trade them for the most well-behaved girls on the planet. I love them too much,"

Robert smiled and got up from his seat to plant a kiss on her forehead. "Well, why don't you go and get these girls ready for bed and then you and I can have a nice talk to catch up?"

"That would be very nice," she agreed, heading up the stairs and into her old bedroom where the girls were snuggled together in the bed.

"Goodnight, my darling little girls. I love you so much," she said, kissing them each in the forehead softly and pulling the covers up around them.

"Love you," Annie mumbled sleepily and turned over on her sight, falling asleep almost instantly. Molly smiled up at her mother.

"I love you, Mommy," she said softly and stuck her thumb into her mouth, falling asleep just as quickly as her sister did. Grace gave them one last kiss each on the forehead and went downstairs to find her father at the dining room table, two cups of tea in front of him for them both.

"I really must admit, Grace, I never expected you to come back to Hartford, especially not to visit me. I think it was something really brave." He said once she sat down and she smiled meekly.

"The girls, they don't have any clue about what happened with Edward, and I've decided that I can't let my personal pain affect their childhood and the things they should experience. I grew up here, no matter how painful it is to come back, and I want them to get to know this place as home. Home will never be New York for me, even if it is for them, and I want the girls to see where u came from and of course, to know you."

Robert smiled and took his daughter's hand. "They're both very special little girls, that's for sure. Annie is so inquisitive and Molly reminds me of you so much, it's almost uncanny. I swear, she could be your biological daughter with the way she acts and looks."

Grace chuckled. "Thank you, Dad. How's life been for you? I feel awful that we've been so focused on me this whole time."

Robert sighed. "Honestly, it's been very lonely. After you left, I quit my job, since I had nobody important left to care for and I decided to try and focus on writing a book. It's not going very well, as you can see. That doesn't go to say that I'm not happy. It's nice to be alone most of the time, but there are just days I wish you or your mother was still here."

"Have you talked to David or to Lisa at all?" Grace sighed, knowing that asking about Edward's parents was certainly going to be painful.

"They call me every month, actually. They're doing as well as you can imagine and Edward's sister, Lucy, just graduated from high school. She's going to school in New York, actually."

Grace's eyes widened at this revelation. "Wow, I can't believe Lucy is a high school graduate. Makes me feel old," she chuckled. "I never got to ask, but is Edward buried here?"

Robert's eyes softened and he nodded. "I go to visit him on the anniversary of his death each year." He replied and Grace smiled.

"Thank you, Dad,"

"What's Oliver's family like? Have you met any of them?"

"No, actually. Oliver doesn't like to talk about them and I think that he shut them out of his life a good while ago. I doubt that he will ever talk to them again, which is a shame, but I can't say I don't understand. I don't think Oliver does well with grief or pain," she sighed.

They sat in silence for a couple minutes more before Molly came down the stairs, whimpering and with tears steadily falling from her cheeks. Grace got up from her seat, concerned, and crossed over to the little girl, picking her up.

"Oh, sweetheart, what's the matter? Why are you crying?" She asked and Molly sniffled loudly.

"I had a bad dream, Mama, and that room is really dark and scary. Don't make me go back." The little girl replied and Grace smiled warmly.

"Of course I won't, darling. You can sleep with Daddy and I tonight, alright?"

Molly smiled. "Alright, Mama," she agreed

"Good," Grace replied, kissing her forehead. "Now, what do say we go on and get you all tucked in again?"

Molly nodded and Grace stood up with the little girl in her arms. Robert smiled at the two of them and Grace mouthed a silent goodnight to her father as she headed up the staircase.

"She's a damn good mother," he said to himself, chucking. "Just like her own."

* * *

><p>The next three days were spent doing much of the same. Grace showed her daughters a lot of the things that she liked to do as a girl in the town and they spent a lot of their time doing leisurely things, though they went to the local aquarium one afternoon. Robert graciously got to know his granddaughters a lot better and by the time that the four of them were to head back to New York, Annie, Molly and Robert were practically inseparable. Grace loved to see her family get along so well and was now looking forward to the thanksgiving and Christmas holidays tremendously.<p>

"It was good to see you, Dad," Grace said before they left on Saturday, embracing her father tightly. Robert kissed the top of her head.

"It was a real treat getting to know these girls, Grace. I hope to see you soon," he replied and Grace broke the embrace. Oliver and Robert shared a brief hug and then the girls said s tearful goodbye to their grandfather.

"I love you, Grandpa. I'll miss you." Annie said, hugging Robert so tight it almost seemed as if her life depended on it. Robert returned the hug.

"I love you, too, Annie. It was a real pleasure getting to know you, I'll see you very soon."

Annie smiled as Molly came over to hug Robert last.

"I love you very much, Molly. I'm glad to have met you," he said, hugging the girl who was still a bit apprehensive about giving him hugs and the like. Molly smiled.

"I love you, Grandpa," she replied, hugging him back. Robert broke the embrace and kissed the top of her forehead before Grace took her by the hand and helped her into the limousine. The family waved to Robert as they drove away and the old man sighed, wishing nothing more than to see them more often.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter I thought it was sweet :) I hope you are still enjoying the story and I realise that I promised more Grace and Oliver than what I've put out, but there will be more of them in the upcoming chapters. I also have updated the description of the story since as I write more and more, I fall more and more in love with this family and want to write a very long anthology about them! I also want to let you know that if you have anything you'd like to see, put it in a review and I will try to implement it. Updates should be coming more frequently for the next couple of weeks, since I'm off school for the winter holidays until January fifth. Thank you for all your continued support!<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

"It is now two thirty in the morning," the PA speaker announced into the loud, bustling emergency room.

Oliver sighed when he heard this, rubbing a hand down his face as hopelessness began to paralyse his body. People had been coming in and out of the emergency room all night, being treated for minor injuries due to simple carelessness in most cases. People had come in and out with nothing severe. People left the hospital that night to go back to their warm homes, oblivious to any pain or suffering.

And he still had no idea how Grace, Annie, or Molly were. He had been separated from them for upwards of four hours now and he had no clue if they were alright or not. He had no idea of anything. Everything was uncertain and seeing all those people come and go without any care in the world made him angry, even if he didn't necessarily have the right to be.

The four of them had been at the hospital since eleven and Oliver was given his clean bill of health within an hour of arriving. The people who really mattered, though, his wife and his little girls, were somewhere inside the ER being treated for God knows what. He wasn't allowed to be with any of them. The doctors wouldn't allow him back into the emergency room with the girls until they were "stable" and the fact that it was taking so long for the doctors to stabilise them didn't help calm his anxiety in the slightest. He needed to see them, breathing and alert. He needed to know they would be alright.

He had no idea of anything about Grace. Of course, he was worried sick about all three of them, but his main priority at the moment was getting the girls the treatment they needed as soon as possible. Grace would have to come second for now, even though he hated to think of it like that. It was what needed to be done and it would be what she wanted.

It wasn't supposed to happen like this. He wasn't supposed to wait and wait to hear if his daughters and his wife would be alright. He wasn't supposed to spend the night in the emergency room simply because he had decided to take his family on a vacation. It seemed so unfair to him. Unfair that the three of them had been hurt more than he in the accident. Unfair that they had been hurt so badly, scrapes and bruises all across their bodies and laying unconscious on the ground waiting for help to arrive He would give anything to trade places with them, anything in the entire world. He would give up all of his money if it meant they would be okay.

It had been a freak accident, one that happened in the worst way possible. The small family had been sitting in their private train cabin, calmly eating dinner, when the train suddenly collided with another coming in the opposite direction. Their train was thrown sideways off tracks and Grace and the girls had gone unconscious almost instantly. The minutes that followed, as he tried his best to get them to regain consciousness, to respond to anything, were the most terrifying moments in his entire life. The EMTs came within ten minutes of their train crashing and had whisked Annie, Molly, and Grace off without a second thought. He hadn't seen them since.

Now, he was playing a game he hated. The waiting game. At first, he had paced the waiting room more times than he could have counted. Then he decided to go down to the cafeteria and try to get something into his stomach, but the thought that some new developments would come while he was gone made him second guess that decision pretty quickly. He had finally given up to staying in the ER waiting room, aimlessly looking through magazines and watching the clock as if it would magically give him all the answers. It was the worst thing in the world to him: hanging on the edge of his seat, just waiting for some news, _any_ news. He wouldn't wish this upon his worst enemy.

He sighed again and forced his eyes away from the clock, picking up yet another pointless magazine and pretending to thumb through it. All he wanted was to just be with his daughters, to tell them that they would be alright. He wanted to protect them.

Finally, as if the doctor had been reading his mind, his prayers were answered.

"Mr. Warbucks?" A nurse in pink scrubs called out into the room, holding a clipboard. Oliver jumped out of his seat with more agility than he realised he possessed.

"That would be me," he replied, coming up towards her. "Are my daughters alright? Are they awake?"

The nurse smiled warmly. "Your older daughter, Annie, is stable and alert and her injuries are minor. She has a fractured wrist and some scrapes across her forehead, but other than that she's just fine. She woke up around ten minutes ago asking for you,"

Oliver smiled slightly at this news, letting out a sigh of relief. "What about my younger daughter? How's she?"

The nurse's face became less bright and he sucked in a breath, fearing the worst. "Your daughter, Molly, is still unconscious, sir, but she's stable. We had to give her an oxygen mask for an hour or so, but now she's breathing fine on her own. We've run some tests and X-rays on her and she shows no other injuries besides scrapes and bruises, but we'll make sure when she comes to. They should be fine, though, and ready to go home within twenty four hours."

"Oh, thank God," he replied, grateful. "Can I see them?"

The nurse smiled and nodded. "I think Annie would like that very much," she agreed and opened the doors to the ER, leading him to Annie, who was sitting up in her hospital bed, face bright as ever.

"Daddy Warbucks, you're here!" She said upon Oliver walking into the room, reaching her arms out for a hug. Oliver fought back tears when he saw the redhead completely fine and pulled her into the tightest embrace he had given anyone.

"Of course I'm here, darling. I'll always be here," he replied, whispering into her hair. He felt tears trickling down onto his shoulders and tightened the hold around her. They stayed in the embrace for a couple minutes before Annie finally broke it.

"I was so scared, Daddy, when I woke up and there were all these strange nurses around me. I didn't remember what happened, but they said the train crashed. Is that true?"

"Yes, sweetheart, it is. It was very much unexpected. I'm just glad you're alright," he wiped away the tears lingering on her cheeks. She smiled and gave him another brief hug.

"Are Mom and Molly alright, too? Where are they?"

Oliver's smile faded a bit when the redhead mentioned Grace, but knew that scaring Annie was not going to help any. "I'm not sure how Mom is right now actually, darling. I wanted to stay and wait for you girls to wake up before I worry about her, so as soon as Molly wakes up and the doctors say you two are fine to go home, I'll go and check on her."

"So Molly's not awake then?" She asked apprehensively and Oliver shook his head gently.

"Not yet, no, but the nurse said that she seems fine. They're just going to check her over once more when she wakes up and then we can see her,"

"Do you think Mom is going to be alright?"

Oliver smiled widely. "Your mother is the strongest person I have ever met, Annie. I have no doubt that she's going to be alright. No silly train accident will keep her from us. She'll pull through, I'm sure of it."

Annie returned his wide smile at these words. "I love you, Daddy. I'm so glad that you're alright," she said and Oliver took her hand.

"I love you, too, Annie, very much. I know that being in an accident like this can be a little scary, but I want you to understand that we will pull through and be alright, all of us. We're a very strong family."

"Does Grandpa know about the accident?"

Oliver silently cursed himself at not thinking to tell Robert and shook his head. "No, darling, I haven't actually. Thank you for reminding me. Will you be alright if I leave you for a couple minutes to go and call him?"

Annie nodded and he kissed her forehead. "You are so brave, Annie. I'm so very proud of you," he said and got up from the bed. He left the room and went to the payphone near the entrance of the ER, dialling Roberts number. The phone rang three times before a groggy, disoriented voice came on the line.

"Hello?"

"Robert? It's Oliver. I'm sorry to call so late."

"Oliver? No, no don't be silly. Is everything alright?" Robert's voice became more alert when he realised it was his son-in-law on the line.

"On the way back to New York tonight, our train collided with another and flipped over onto its side. I'm at the New York Memorial right now with the girls and Grace and I thought that you might like to know,"

"Oh, my God. Is everyone alright?"

"The girls are just fine, yes, but I haven't seen Grace in a couple hours. I've just been so focused on making the girls are alright. I'm going to check on her as soon as I make sure that Molly's alright when she wakes up. I'll call you when I know anything about her,"

"Don't worry about calling, Oliver, I'm on my way. I bet you will need help with the girls and I would like to be there for them and for you. It should take me no longer than three or four hours."

"Thank you so much, Robert,"

"Don't mention it. We're family. Thank you for the call,"

"Of course. I'll see you soon,"

Oliver hung up the phone just as the same nurse from the waiting room came up to him.

"Mr. Warbucks, sir, Molly is awake and she seems none the worse for wear. She's pretty upset that there's nobody familiar in the room with her, though. Would you like to go and see her?"

Oliver's heart clenched when he heard Molly was upset and nodded. The nurse led him to another room in the ER, the opposite side from where Annie was staying. Molly was sitting up in the hospital bed, clutching an unfamiliar stuffed animal with frightened tears rushing down her face. Oliver hurriedly rushed over to her and took her into his arms when he got into the room. He held her in a tight embrace for a couple minutes, much as he did Annie, as the six-year-old softly sobbed into his shoulder.

"Shh, darling, Daddy's here. You're alright. Daddy's here," Oliver soothed, rubbing her back and she tightened her hold around him.

"Daddy, what happened? Where are we?" She whispered and he pulled back from the embrace so he could look at her.

"On the way home from Connecticut, sweetie, our train crashed into another one and you got a little hurt. We're at the hospital right now so we can make sure you're alright,"

"Am I?" She asked anxiously and Oliver smiled, nodding and wiping away her tears.

"You're perfectly fine, darling. Don't you worry. Are you scared?"

Molly nodded slightly. "I didn't know anyone in the room when I woke up, Daddy, they were all strangers and you and Mama weren't anywhere. Where is Mama?"

"She's still getting some treatment, darling, so she's not able to be here with you right now. She loves you, though, very, very much."

"Is she gonna be alright?"

Oliver smiled and kissed her forehead. "Your mama is a very strong woman, Molly. She has gone through s lot in her life and I have no doubt in my mind that she will be fine."

"What about Annie? Where is she?"

"She's in another hospital room, darling, but she's perfectly fine. She was worried about you, though. You were one of the first things she asked about when she woke up."

Molly smiled and hugged her father again, her eyelids beginning to droop as she was clearly still tired. He smiled down at her and cradled her in his arms, letting her fall asleep peacefully. A nurse came into the room a couple minutes after Molly had dozed off and smiled when she saw the pair.

"I just wanted to let you know that the doctor cleared her for going home." She whispered to Oliver, who looked up and nodded, smiling.

"Thank you for everything. Do you mind if I just let her rest here? She just looks so peaceful," he whispered back. The nurse nodded.

"Of course, sir. Take your time," she turned and left the room as Oliver shifted Molly carefully into the hospital bed so he wouldn't wake her. When he was satisfied she was still sound asleep, he left the room to go back across the hall to Annie. When he got into her room, she was sitting up in the bed, her head tilted to the side and sleeping with a gentle snore. Oliver smiled and sat next to her, gently stroking her hand.

"Daddy," the redhead mumbled in her sleep, clasping her hand in his subconsciously. He smiled and shifted her over in the bed slightly so he could sit next to her. He wrapped his arm around her and closed his eyes, intending to get a few minutes of sleep at the most, but as soon as he closed his eyes, pure exhaustion took over and he was soon in a deep sleep.

* * *

><p>"Daddy. Daddy, wake up," Annie whispered an hour and a half later, waking up from a nightmare about the accident. Oliver stirred slowly and looked down at her, becoming concerned when he saw tears on her face for the second time that night when she normally didn't cry ever.<p>

"Oh, Annie, darling what happened?" He asked, becoming aware of his surroundings all of a sudden.

"It was the accident again, Daddy. It happened again, but this time you and Mom died and Molly was taken back to the orphanage and I was all alone again, on the streets. I was an orphan again," she replied, her tears turning into sobs and Oliver pulled her in close.

"Sweetheart, those days are long over. You are not an orphan anymore and you won't ever be an orphan again for as long as you live. Mom and I will be here for you, no matter how old you get. Don't ever worry about that,"

Annie smiled and hugged her father. "Promise?" She sniffled and he nodded.

"I promise you, darling. And I'm not a man to go back on his word,"

She giggled and pulled back from the embrace, her tears beginning to cease. "Is Molly awake now? Can I see her? I want to make sure she's alright."

"Yes, darling, she's awake and I'm sure she would love to see you. Let me just go and make sure it's alright with the nurses," he replied, rising from the bed and going over towards the nurse's station. They were chattering away, but that chatter soon stopped when they realised _the_ Oliver Warbucks was standing in front of them. One nurse almost fainted.

"Mr. Warbucks, how can we help you?" The nurse in the pink scrubs asked after a few moments of astonished silence. Oliver chuckled.

"Both my daughters are awake now and I was wondering if it would be alright my older daughter went to visit her little sister. She's a bit concerned,"

"Oh, of course, Mr. Warbucks. That should be no problem." She replied, getting up from her chair and following Oliver back to Annie's room. She checked the little redhead over once more before allowing her to get up and go across the unit to Molly's room. The younger girl was sound asleep still, clutching the hospital blanket as if it was a stuffed animal and a grimace on her face. Oliver gently settled himself on the edge of the bed and stroked Molly's bangs back from her forehead until the girl woke up and smiled at her father.

"Hi, sweetheart, how are you feeling? Did you sleep alright?" Oliver whispered and Molly sat up a bit, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the dark hospital room.

"I was really tired, Daddy, but I'm feeling fine."

He smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately. "That's good, darling. Are you up for a visitor? Annie's right here," he said and Molly's eyes lit up at the mention of her older sister.

"Annie!" She called out and Annie came forward, sitting next to her on the bed and engulfing her sister in a tight embrace.

"Molly, I'm so glad you're alright," Annie whispered into her sister's hair and Molly nodded.

"I'm glad you're alright, too, Annie. I was really scared,"

"I know. I was, too, but we have Mom and Daddy here to take care of us," Annie reassured, pulling back from the embrace and smiling at Molly.

Oliver watched the two of them, smiling, and relieved that they were, truly, going to be alright. It was as if the weight of the earth had been lifted off his shoulders.

A soft knock came to the door and a male nurse appeared in the door. "Excuse me for interruption, but a man by the name of Robert Farrell claims to be with you and your family, Mr. Warbucks. Does the name sound familiar?"

Annie's head popped up at this. "Grandpa's here!" She said and the nurse looked to her, chuckling.

"I suppose that's a yes, then," he replied and Oliver nodded. The nurse peeked his head out of the room and called out to someone in the hallway. Within a matter of seconds, Robert came into the hospital room and let out a breath of relief when he saw the girls, a bit scratched, but alright all the same.

The girls scrambled off the bed when they saw him, running to hug him and squealing "Grandpa!" out in unison. Robert knelt down and caught them both in a hug, tears pricking at his eyes.

"Oh, girls, thank god you're alright," he said, "You scared me so much," he said and Oliver chuckled.

"Yes, they scared me quite a bit, too. I'm just glad it was nothing severe," he replied and Robert looked up, pulling back from the girls and standing.

"How's Grace? Is she conscious?"

Oliver reluctantly shook his head. "I haven't yet been able to check on her, to be honest. I've just been so focused on making sure the girls are alright,"

Robert smiled. "Well, now you know they're fine. Let me stay here with them, and you go check on your wife. I'm sure she could use the company,"

Oliver nodded and bent down to the girls, taking each of them by the hand. "Girls, I'm going to go and check in your mother right now. I know that tonight has been long and you two are exhausted, but I want you to be good for Grandpa. I'll try not to be too long, but I need to go make sure Mom is alright. Try and get some sleep, alright? You could use the rest."

Annie smiled and hugged her father. "We'll be fine, Daddy. Tell Mom I love her,"

"I will most certainly do that," he replied, smiling. "And I'll tell her for you, too, Molly," he said and the little girl simply nodded. He kissed them each on the forehead before going back to the dreaded ER waiting room.

"How can I help you, sir?" The receptionist behind the desk asked when she caught sight of Oliver's worried face.

"I'm looking for my wife, Grace. Grace Warbucks. She came in via ambulance around eleven and I haven't been able to check on her yet because I've been so focused with our daughters. Do you happen to know where she is?"

The receptionist paged through her files until she found Grace's and nodded. "Your wife is still in the ER, room 1208. I'm not sure what the doctors are thinking of as far as treatment goes, but I suppose they will be able to tell you more when you get there,"

"Thank you," Oliver replied, going back into the ER, the regular unit this time, and finding Grace within five or so minutes. His breath caught when he saw her, an oxygen mask over her face, IV in her arm, and face as pale as a sheet.

"Oh, Grace," he whispered, his heart tugging.

He didn't want to believe that this was his beautiful, lively wife here. He didn't want to believe that she was next to him. No, his wife was not the woman in the hospital bed. She couldn't be.

He came closer to the hospital bed and sat in the chair next to it, taking her cold hand.

"Grace, darling, what happened?" He whispered, hopelessly knowing that he wouldn't get a response from her. She was unconscious.

A doctor came into the room at that moment and was startled when she saw Oliver. "Sir, do you know this woman? I'm afraid we can't just let you walk into a patient's room,"

"She's my wife," Oliver quickly replied, standing up. "How is she doing? Will she be alright?"

The doctor's face grew dark and serious as she sat down in the char Oliver had just vacated. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Warbucks, though I hate that it's under such awful circumstances. I'm Dr. Hicks," she reached out her hand and Oliver quickly and curtly shook it.

"It's nice to meet you," he replied absentmindedly, "What's wrong with my wife?"

Dr. Hicks sighed. "Unfortunately, Mr. Warbucks, your wife was hit pretty hard in the accident earlier on this evening. My medical team has run a number of tests on her and I regret to inform you, but we believe that she is comatose. There was a significant amount of swelling on the brain when we saw her X-ray and in cases where there is that much swelling, comas frequently are a symptom."

Oliver gasped, feeling as if he had been sucker punched in the gut when he heard this. "But, they're curable, right? My wife will be able to come back from this?" He managed to ask.

"In a lot of cases, yes, most patients do come back from a state of coma, but not in all. I'm afraid it all depends on the individual and the amount of trauma to the head."

Oliver shook his head in disbelief. "Can you tell me anything right now? Do you think that she will be able to come back from this?"

Dr. Hicks smiled now. "I have been a doctor for almost ten years now, Mr. Warbucks, and I have seen patients with head injuries far worse than your wife's. Those patients have all survived, so I am going to tell you that there is a very high probability that she will recover. My team has been working very hard tonight to keep her stable and we will continue doing our best to bring her back,"

"Thank you so much," he replied, smiling a bit. "I really appreciate it,"

"Of course, Mr. Warbucks. I'll let you have a couple moments with your wife now, I'm sure you would like to be alone." Dr. Hicks said, rising from the chair and turning to leave the room.

"Wait," Oliver called out and she turned back, smiling at him.

"Yes, Mr. Warbucks?"

"What if, what if she doesn't make it?" He asked softly, "What will I do?"

Dr. Hicks smiled and walked over towards him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Warbucks, I advise that you just focus on getting your wife better right now. Worrying won't do you either of you much good, not to mention your daughters. Those little girls need their father right now. Please just focus on positive things. You look like you've had a rough enough night as it is," she concluded, turning to leave the room again.

Oliver chuckled. "What gave it away?" He muttered, sitting back down next to Grace and taking her hand, tears beginning to brim in his eyes.

"Grace, darling, it's Oliver," he said to her through his tears, "I know that you've had a long night, but I need you to pull through for me, alright? You're so strong, darling. You can't leave me. I need you to be my wife, to be the mother of our children. The girls love you so much, sweetheart, and I know you love them, too. Please pull through, for all of us. Please," he stopped, knowing that he would begin to sob if he went on any longer and instead laid his head down on the bed, still clutching Grace's hand.

He listened to her laboured breathing in silence, wincing as each breath came in. She didn't sound good at all. He squeezed her hand tighter, closing his eyes now, and let himself fall into a dreamless sleep, not wanting to have to wake up and see her like this.

* * *

><p>He did, though. He awoke sometime later to a blinding sunlight streaming in through the window and was confused for a few moments before he remembered where had fallen asleep. He slowly rose his head to look at Grace and sighed when he saw that she looked no better than before. In fact, he hated to say it, but she looked worse.<p>

"Grace, please," he said softly, sitting up in the chair and bringing her cold hand to his lips. "Please wake up, Grace. I love you so much, darling. I need you to wake up,"

He watched her face, as if expecting some kind of emotion to appear on it, but to no such luck. She looked dead and that terrified him.

A nurse came in a few minutes later. "Good morning, Mr. Warbucks," she said and Oliver smiled slightly.

"Good morning," he replied, "is my wife doing any better?"

The nurse turned away from Grace and looked to him, sadly shaking her head. "I'm sorry, sir, but no. She's actually doing a little worse. Her blood pressure's gone up and her heart rate has gone down."

"What does that mean exactly? Is that something that could be potentially fatal?"

The nurse grimaced and nodded. "We don't like to see heart rate dropping, especially not in comatose patients, but we will do our best to keep it under control. Would you mind stepping out of the room for a bit while we try to figure out the best way to treat this?"

Oliver stood up, feeling numb and nodded. He leaned down and kissed Grace on the forehead. "I love you, Grace. The doctors will help you, alright? I'll be back soon,"

The nurse smiled as he left the room, feeling completely hopeless. He decided that if he were to wait outside the hospital room, he would go insane and decided that it was as good a time as any to update Robert and the girls about Grace's condition. He slowly walked back to the children's emergency room, having no idea how he was to break news like this to the girls. Luckily, when he got to Molly's hospital room, the girls were still fast asleep, snuggled up together in the bed. Robert was sitting in a chair, aimlessly looking at the clock, much as Oliver did when he was in the waiting room.

"Oliver," Robert whispered when he saw Oliver enter out of the corner of his eye. He stood up to look at him. "How's Grace?"

Oliver looked at him sadly and shook his head. "She's in a coma, Robert, and she looks horrible. The doctor told me that there was a significant amount of swelling on her brain, but that it's likely she'll recover. I don't care, though. She's just laying there. She even had an oxygen mask over her face," he sighed.

"Oh, Oliver," Robert replied, his heart clenching for Grace. "Does the doctor have any idea of when she might wake up?"

Oliver shook his head again. "No. I guess she just wants me to wait for Grace to either get better or get worse. I don't know how the hell I can do that." He glanced over at the girls, and smiled sadly when he saw their peaceful sleeping faces. "How long have they been asleep?"

"An hour or so. They've been sleeping on and off all night, but I think the hospital bed is too uncomfortable, not to mention they keep dreaming of the accident. It's been a rough night, for all of us,"

Oliver nodded. "I have no idea what I'm going to tell them, Robert. They're going to worry about grace no matter what I say. I just wish I could give them a clear picture."

Robert placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "You'll know what to say, Oliver, when they ask. It will just be instinctual. Comes with being a father,"

"Thank you, Robert, for everything. I really appreciate you coming all this way,"

"Oliver, don't even worry about that. I am glad to be here to help you and help take care of the girls. Grace needs you right now, more than Annie or Molly do and I'll stay as long as you need,"

"Did the doctor come in and say Annie could go home? I know that they cleared Molly awhile ago, but I never spoke to a doctor about Annie,"

Robert nodded. "A doctor came in around five thirty this morning to say that Annie could go home," he replied.

"Alright, that's good. After they wake up and I tell them what's going on with Grace, would you mind going back with them to the mansion? I'll call home right now and have the limo pick you up, but I think the girls will want someone to be at home with them,"

"Of course, Oliver. Whatever helps you help Grace," he agreed.

Oliver smiled gratefully and got up to go and call home on the pay phone. Drake answered and he filled the butler in on all that had happened the previous night before asking for Punjab to come and pick up the girls and Robert around ten.

When he got back to the hospital room, Annie was just beginning to wake up. Upon seeing her father, the redhead slowly detached herself from her little sister's grip and threw herself into his arms, beginning to sob.

"Annie, darling, please don't cry. I know that you're scared, but everything is okay now. You are safe and perfectly fine. I promise you," Oliver said softly and felt Annie nod against his neck.

"I know, Daddy. I'm sorry," she replied sheepishly and Oliver smiled at her.

"You don't have to apologise, sweetheart. I understand,"

"How was Mom? Is she awake? Can I see her?

Oliver internally cringed, knowing that anything he said was going to worry Annie. "I'll tell both you girls when Molly wakes up, sweetheart. She's going to be alright, though. Your mother will be fine," he replied and Annie nodded.

"Can we go home?" She asked and Oliver chuckled.

"Soon, my dear. We just have to wait for Molly to wake up," he reassured, just as Molly began to wake up. He smiled warmly and crossed over to her, pulling her into his arms.

"Good morning, darling. How are you this morning?"

Molly shrugged. "I'm tired, Daddy. Is Mama awake yet? Can I see her?"

Oliver's previous bright smile grew weak and he sighed, beckoning for Annie to come over. The redhead hopped up onto the hospital bed, watching her father with concerned eyes.

"Is Mom okay, Daddy?" She asked and Oliver took both of them by the hand.

"Girls, you mother was injured pretty severely last night in the accident and I'm afraid that she hasn't woken up yet. The doctors think that she's in a coma, which means she may be asleep for a couple days or a couple weeks. They're just not sure, but they are doing their best to keep her healthy,"

Annie gasped. "Will she ever wake up?" She asked and Oliver smiled.

"You know, Annie, I think that there is a very good chance that she will. Your mother loves both you girls very, very much. I don't think she would give up without a fight."

Molly's eyes began to brim with tears as she looked up at her father. "Can I see her, Daddy?" She asked softly and Oliver gently shook his head.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I don't think you can right now. Punjab is going to come to take you girls and Grandpa home soon. He'll keep you company while I sit here with Mom. I'll be home later tonight," he replied and Molly shook her head, her tears becoming more pronounced.

"Please, Daddy! I just want to see Mama! Please let me see her!" She replied in near hysteria and Oliver's heart clenched when he saw just how upset his little girl was.]

"Molly, I wish that you could see her, but I just don't think it's a very good idea right now. I promise to call you girls as soon as I know anything, alright. You girls are very strong. Can you be brave for me while I take care of Mom?"

Annie smiled at him. "We can do that, right, Molly?" She relied, looking to her little sister, who reluctantly nodded.

"I guess so," she muttered and Oliver smiled.

"That's my girl," he said.

Annie kissed her forehead and helped her up from the bed. Oliver stood up with them and gave them each a long hug goodbye before he went back to Grace. He found Dr. Hicks outside her room when he arrived and she smiled when she saw him.

"Mr. Warbucks, I'm glad that you're here. We've decided that it's in Mrs. Warbuck's best interest to be moved to a proper hospital room, not one in the ER. We've also run a few more tests and discovered that she has a pretty severe concussion, which could be the cause of the coma. Other than that, she seems to be perfectly fine. There may be one complication, though," she said, biting her lip.

Oliver's eyes widened, his anxiety beginning to grow more. "What's the complication?"

"Mr. Warbucks, your wife is pregnant,"


	9. Chapter 9

For a moment, there was silence between Oliver and the doctor as he processed this news. He didn't expect to hear this in the slightest.

"P-pregnant?" Oliver finally replied, utterly astonished.

Dr. Hicks smiled sadly. "Yes, we think she's around five or six weeks along,"

"A baby," he said softly, his eyes starting to become bright and lively. "My wife is going to have a baby!"

"Mr. Warbucks, I hate to be negative right now, but before you get your hopes up too high, I think you should know what this might mean for your wife's condition," Dr. Hicks replied, going to sit down on a nearby chair. Oliver followed suit, his heart beginning to pound rapidly.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, voice wavering.

"Mr. Warbucks, your wife is in a fragile condition right now, no matter how high the odds are. She's going to need a lot of medicine to keep her alive for a little while, medicine that could be harmful or even fatal to the baby. The X-rays that we have run on her are already very risky to have around the baby and we're not sure how to proceed with her treatment,"

Oliver gaped at the doctor for a few moments, his mind swirling as he tried to process the news he had just been given. "Is there," he gulped, "is there anyway that you can treat her without harming the baby?"

Dr. Hicks gravely shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Warbucks, but the other medicine we could give her just doesn't work as well as the one she's on right now."

He took in a shaky breath as he shook his head, not believing this was really happening. "If you took her off what she's on right now, how long would she be able to hold out?"

"I honestly don't know, Mr. Warbucks. As I told you earlier, the recovery and treatment is all dependent on the patient and the trauma to the head. Right now, I don't think that putting Mrs. Warbucks on the other medication would be a smart move. It could, literally, be a manner of life or death,"

"And how long would the baby be able to stay alive if we kept her on this?"

Dr. Hicks gave him a sympathetic look. "Not very long, Mr. Warbucks. Perhaps a month or two, but definitely not the whole gestation period, or even to a point where it could be able to function normally. I'm so sorry,"

Oliver shook his head again, another shaky breath escaping from his lips. "Can I think about this for s little while?" He asked and Dr. Hicks smiled sadly.

"Of course, Mr. Warbucks. Take your time. Let my team just move your wife to her room and we'll leave the two of you alone. I know that this is a difficult situation,"

Dr. Hicks motioned to the nurses outside Grace's current room and the went inside, wheeling the bed out and taking it to the second story of the hospital. They got Grace hooked up to another IV and a heart monitor before leaving. Oliver stood outside the room, watching her through the glass window. Dr. Hicks came up to him and patted his shoulder.

"Don't feel rushed, Mr. Warbucks. I understand that you need time to weigh all the options. You can tell me tomorrow what you think is best, if you want,"

Oliver simply nodded and walked into Grace's room, taking the seat next to her bed as tears began to drip down his cheek. "Grace, what do I do?" He asked quietly. "If I keep you on this, then we won't have our baby, but if I put you on the other medication, you both might die,"

He looked over her face, still as pale as before and he shook his head, the tears beginning to fall faster. How could he make a decision like this? How was he supposed to choose between the life of his wife or the life of his child? What kind of sick, cruel, world was this?

"Grace, please, give me some kind of sign," he said, though he wasn't who normally believed in signs or similar things. Now, he would give anything to have some sort of guidance. "Please tell me what to do."

Grace lay still, though, the only movement from her being the lifting and falling of her chest as she took in laboured breaths. Her eyes were screwed shut, it seemed, and if he couldn't see her breathing, he could've sworn she was dead.

This was an impossible decision, he knew. If he took Grace off whatever she was currently on, she would almost certainly die, but if he kept her on it, the baby would certainly die. What would be worse? Which would hurt him more?

If the girls lost Grace, he had no idea how they would ever go on, though. How in the world could he choose between the well being of his already alive children and that of his unborn child?

He let out a frustrated grunt, putting his head in his hands, completely hopeless. He would be lost without his wife; she had given him so much. She had brought Annie to the mansion, she had pushed him to adopt Molly, and most important of all, she had promised to love him unconditionally, not matter what his flaws were. He would never be able to find someone who was even half as amazing as Grace was, but he would have to if she died, just so the girls would have some kind of maternal figure.

Nobody would compare to Grace for Annie and Molly, though, ever. She was the first one to love them, the first one to actually care if they were alive and well, and the first person they could trust. Of course, he loved them to the ends of the earth and would do everything in his power to be there for them if Grace were to pass away, but it wouldn't ever be the same. Good Lord, what was he supposed to? How could he actively take his wife off the medication she was currently on, knowing good and well there was a very real possibility of her dying? How could he live with himself after that, let alone live with the girls knowing that he might have caused their mother to pass away? How?

That seemed to be the question of the hour.

Oliver looked up at his wife's pale face again and collapsed into heaving sobs. He couldn't do this. He couldn't kill Grace. He couldn't kill their baby, either. He may have been a bitter old businessman, but he had a heart and he loved the woman lying in the bed next to him too much to let her die. He had to do whatever he could to keep her alive, to let her be Annie and Molly's mother, to be his wife.

"Sahib," a voice from the doorway spoke out and Oliver looked up, surprised to see Punjab looking at him with a concerned glance. At was then Oliver knew that he must truly look terrible, for Punjab was a master at covering his emotions.

"Punjab, what are you doing here?" He asked, getting up from the chair and crossing over to his bodyguard.

"I thought it might be best if you had some company here while you're here," the Indian man replied and Oliver glanced at the clock, surprised to see it was already noon.

"Thank you, Punjab. I really could use the company," he agreed, chuckling, "I've been going crazy alone with my thoughts."

"How is she doing?" Punjab glanced over Oliver's shoulder at Grace and the bald man sighed.

"She's comatose, Punjab, and she has a pretty severe concussion. She's also pregnant,"

Punjab's eyes widened.

"Yes, I was surprised, too. Believe me. The thing is, though, that if I keep her on the medication she's on right now, the medication that's keeping her alive, it's almost certain the baby will pass away, but if I switch to medicine that's safer for the baby, there's a likelihood they'll both die. How can I pick between the two of them? It's impossible,"

Punjab nodded. "That does sound like a hard situation, Sahib, but I think that you need to talk to Mrs.'s father before you decide anything. I'm sure he would like to know what's going on,"

"How could I forget about him again?" Oliver replied, more to himself than to his bodyguard as he mentally slapped himself. "I'm being selfish, Punjab. I keep forgetting that Grace isn't mine and mine alone. Her father has a say, too," he turned to look back at his wife and sighed. "I can't leave her, though. What if she wakes up without me here?"

Punjab placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Sahib, you won't be able to get anything done but worry if you don't go speak to Mrs.'s father. I will wait here and call you if there's any change in her condition. You need to go home, perhaps get a few hours of rest, and be there for the girls. They're very concerned about their mother, as you can imagine,"

Oliver sighed again and nodded, knowing that going home was what he needed to do whether he liked it or not. "I will be back as soon as possible, Punjab. I don't want to make you wait here with my wife, it's not your job,"

The Indian man smiled slightly. "I am your bodyguard, Sahib, and that means I do what is best for you. Right now, me watching over Mrs. while you go home and rest is what's best, for all of you,"

Oliver reluctantly nodded again, hating the fact that Punjab was right. "You promise to call me the minute that anything happens?" He asked and the bodyguard nodded.

"You have my word, Sahib,"

Oliver gave one last glance at Grace and left the room, going directly to the entrance of the hospital where he found a familiar limousine parked in front of it, waiting. Oliver chuckled when he saw the Asp in the driver's seat, realising that it was their plan to get him to come home all along. He slid into the limousine and greeted his other bodyguard, before leaning his head tiredly against the window, falling asleep almost instantly.

What seemed like seconds later, the limousine halted to a stop in front of the mansion and jolted Oliver awake. He blinked when he saw where they were and lethargically stepped out of the limo before walking up the front steps and being attacked with hugs before he was even able to make it into the house all the way.

"Daddy!" Annie and Molly exclaimed in unison, wrapping their arms around him. Oliver smiled and hugged them back, his stress beginning to lessen in the presence.

"It's good to see you girls," he replied, pulling back from the embrace and smiling at the two of them.

"How is Mom? Is she awake yet?" Annie asked as she looked at him with bright and expectant eyes, almost as if she thought he had all the answers.

Oliver sighed softly as he shook his head, hating that he was about to crush what little hope the girls had left. "I'm sorry, darling, but she isn't yet. I'm not really sure when she will, but the doctors are very hopeful about her condition. They think it will only be a day or two more,"

Annie's face fell at this. "Oh," she replied sadly and Oliver blinked back the tears that were threatening to brim in his eyes at how heartbroken she was. Instead, he forced a smile upon his face and took her hand.

"Annie, darling, I know that doesn't necessarily sound like great news right now, but it's a lot better than it could be. Yes, Mom is a little bit sick, but she is getting better as every minute passes. Please don't lose hope, alright? I truly believe she will wake up soon,"

Molly looked worriedly between her sister, her father, and back again before voicing the worry they all had. "Daddy, what if she doesn't ever wake up?" She asked quietly and Annie gaped at her for a moment before bursting into tears and running into the mansion.

"Annie," Oliver called out weakly as he watched the redhead run up the marble staircase. He sighed and turned back towards his younger daughter, who looked as if she were to burst into tears at any second.

"What did I do wrong, Daddy? Is Annie mad at me?" She asked and Oliver smiled at her, shaking his head and pulling her in for a hug.

"No, darling, Annie isn't mad at you. She's just worried sick about Mom and I think she was taking it out on us. You didn't do anything wrong,"

Molly looked at him for a few moments, not sure whether to believe him or not, before nodding. "What if Mama doesn't ever wake up?" She repeated and Oliver's heart clenched, knowing that at this point, that was a very real possibility and one that terrified him.

He carefully mulled over how to respond as Molly watched him with worried eyes, her anxiety rising quickly. "Darling, I don't want you to worry about anything like that right now. Your mother has been through a lot in the past day and her body just needs a little more time to recover than yours did. She is getting the very best care I can find for her right now and I will stop at nothing to get her better, alright?"

"You promise, Daddy?"

Oliver smiled. "I promise, sweetheart." He replied, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, too, Molly, very very much. Now, why don't you go run along and play while I go and talk to your sister? I'll come check on you in awhile,"

Molly nodded again, smiling a bit and he led her upstairs to her bedroom before going across the hall to Annie's. He knocked lightly on the door and opened it after a few moments to find the redhead swinging her legs as she sat on her bed, tears steadily making their way down her cheeks.

"Annie, darling, do you want to talk?" Oliver asked, standing in the doorway. She looked up, not having heard his knock or the door open and nodded slightly. He slowly came over and set next to her on the bed and she threw her arms around his waist.

"I don't want to lose Mom, Daddy. It's not fair," she said softly and Oliver sighed, beginning to rub her back.

"Oh, sweetheart. You are nowhere close to losing her anytime soon, alright? Just because she hasn't woken up yet doesn't necessarily mean she never will. I know that it's unsettling at best not knowing what's going to happen to her, but you have to trust me, Annie."

Annie looked up at him, her face stained with tears. "It's hard,"

"I know it is, and I wish I could tell you more right now, but the truth is, I have no other information to give you. I'm not sure when Mom will wake up. Nobody is. The one thing I am sure of is that I will fight for her, okay? I will fight for her and I will fight for you girls. I will do anything I can to help her recover."

The little girl nodded and the two sat in a heavy silence for a few minutes, Oliver knowing that there was something more that Annie wasn't speaking up about.

"Annie, what is it?" He asked and she looked away for the briefest of moments, her tears beginning to fall faster and with more force than before.

"Molly keeps asking me if Mom's going to get better or not and I hate that I can't tell her for sure. She's so used to me knowing pretty much everything. All I want to do is just comfort her because Mom can't right now and it also hurts me because I have no idea either. I don't know how I can be so happy, Daddy, when I don't know about Mom,"

Oliver smiled at this and patted her back. "You're a wonderful older sister, Annie, did you know that? I understand fully how fought it is, darling, but I just finished talking to her about the same sort thing I'm talking to you about, so I hope that makes her feel a little better. think the best thing you can do right now is just to reassure her even if you're not completely reassured yourself. Molly looks up to you a lot, sweetheart, and she's going to need you to step up for her while I'm at the hospital with Mom. You have a clearer picture of what's going on because you're older and you understand more. Molly's still pretty little, she doesn't understand much. You just have to be there for her, alright? And if you ever get overwhelmed, your grandfather will be here for you to talk to. I also promise to be home as much as I can,"

Annie nodded again and hugged Oliver tightly. "Thank you, Daddy,"

"Of course, darling," he replied, wrapping his arms tighter around her small figure. They stayed in this embrace for a couple minutes before Oliver remembered the real reason he had come and went off in search of his father-in-law. To his surprise, he found him in his study, sitting at the desk and looking sadly at the portrait Oliver had of Grace at his desk.

"Oliver," Robert said softly when he noticed him come into the room, clearing his throat. "How is-how is Grace? Is she doing any better?"

Oliver slumped down into a chair, collapsing into sobs that he didn't realise he was holding back as he shook his head. Robert, concerned, hurriedly came over and sat next to him.

"Oliver, what is it? Is-is she...?" The man trailed off, not able to finish his sentence.

"She's pregnant, Robert, and the medicine she's on right now is fatal to the baby. If I take her off this medicine, though, and put her on one that's safer for the baby, it's a lot less likely she'll make it. Oh, God, I have no idea what to do," he replied, putting his head in his hands.

Robert stared at him for a few minutes, processing what he had just been told in utter horror. "Oh, Oliver," he replied softly, his voice shaking. "I'm going against everything I believe in when I say this, but you **cannot** let your wife die. Not if you could help it. Those little girls of yours are already so shaken up with her just being in the hospital, I don't want to even imagine what they'll be like if she passes. They need her more than you realise they so and I think you need her more than you'd like to admit yourself. You have to keep her on this medication Oliver, if it means that she's more likely to come back. Is it going to be hard to lose that baby? Yes, more than you could ever imagine, but you and Grace will through it together, as a team. Just like you are meant to be,"

The younger of the two men looked up and nodded softly, knowing that this was the only option from the very beginning. "I just, I never thought I would have to choose between the life of my wife and the life of my baby. It's not fair, Robert. It's not fair." He angrily slammed his fist down on the sofa and Robert placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a sympathetic smile.

"I completely agree, Oliver. Life is just not fair sometimes, but Annie and Molly need you to make this tough decision for them. I know that this feels just so wrong for you, but Grace means so much to everyone in this house and if there's one thing I learned from losing my wife years and years ago, there's nothing worse than a child losing their mother. Grace was so completely distraught after my Julie died and I honestly don't think she ever recovered fully. Annie and Molly need Grace now more than ever. You need to fight for them and fight for your wife,"

Oliver heaved a heavy sigh. "Thank you, Robert. I really appreciate everything you've been doing for me, staying here with the girls and all. It's a tremendous help,"

"Oliver, please don't thank me. I would do it no matter if Grace and I were speaking or not. You have to be with her right now and I fully understand that. Please don't worry,"

Oliver smiled a bit and got up from the sofa, sighing again. "I need to get back to the hospital, to be with Grace. My bodyguards sent me home to rest, but," he chuckled, "I highly doubt I will be able to get any rest not being with her,"

Robert nodded. "Of course. Go right ahead," he replied, and Oliver got up, leaving the room and going to find the girls so he could say goodbye before he left again. He found them in the kitchen, taking fresh warm cookies from Mrs. Pugh and beginning to chomp down on them.

"Daddy, come have a cookie! Mrs. Pugh just made them and they're really soft!" Molly said when she saw him, holding out a cookie to him. He smiled slightly, coming over and crouching down in front of the two girls. Annie's eyebrows furrowed with concern when she saw the serious look on Oliver's face.

"They sound very good, darling, but I'll let you two have them for right now. I'm actually going to head back to the hospital now to sit with Mom for a while."

"When will you be home again?" Annie asked and Oliver took her by the hand.

"Probably not until very late tonight, long after you girls go to bed. I want you to be good for Grandpa and for the staff, alright?"

Molly's eyes brimmed with tears when she heard this. "Daddy, why are you leaving again? Isn't Mama still asleep? Doesn't she need to rest?"

"She is resting very peacefully, I'm sure, but I would just feel better if I was there with her. I want to be there when she wakes up,"

"Maybe you should bring cookies to the hospital for her, Daddy. Maybe she'll wake up when she smells them." Molly replied and Oliver smiled.

"That's a wonderful idea, darling. I'll have Mrs. Pugh pack some away for the two of us," he replied, getting up and requesting just this.

"Can we come with you, Daddy?" Annie asked when he came back to the two of them and the bald man shook his head.

"Unfortunately, dear, children your age aren't allowed on the floor your mother is being treated on. I know that you girls miss her very much, and I'm sure she'll wake up in just a few days. You can see her as soon as she does, alright?"

"Daddy, please don't leave," Molly said quietly, hopping up onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he patted her back.

"I'm very sorry that I can't stay here with the two of you tonight, but I really need to be with your mother right now. Grandpa and the staff will be here to take care of you,"

"It's not the same," the little girl protested, tears beginning to flow down her cheeks.

"I know, darling, I know, but you girls need to be brave for me right now. Mom needs me to be with her and take care of her, even if it means I have to leave you for a little while. I promise to come home for a little bit longer tomorrow. I love you so much, darling." He replied, kissing her forehead and setting her down on the floor. Annie came over to hug her little sister, who began to sob harder as she saw her father walk out of the kitchen as if he had just done the worst act of betrayal on earth.

Oliver could hear the little girl's cries from all the way outside on the front porch and it took everything in him to not go back in and comfort her, knowing that if he did, there was no way that he would leave for the rest of the night. As much as it broke his heart to hurt Annie and Molly so much, he needed to be with Grace and that was all there was to it. The girls had each other and the mansion staff, all Grace had was ten or so odd doctors and nurses taking care of her while she lay, barely alive, in a hospital bed. He needed to be with her to make sure she was getting the care she so desperately needed.

He arrived back at the hospital within an hour and rushed up to Grace's room as soon as he did. There, much to his horror, he found his wife being wheeled out of the room over the loud shouts of frantic nurses, things that he didn't completely understand except for the fact that it wasn't good in the slightest.

"What's going on?" He demanded at the nurses, who didn't even stop in their yelling as they wheeled Grace farther down the hall and eventually, out of Oliver's sight. Heart rapidly beating, he went back to Punjab who was watching the scene with concerned eyes.

"Punjab, what happened? Why didn't you call?" He asked angrily.

"Alarms suddenly started going off in her room, Sahib, and before I could react, nurses and doctors were coming in and pushing me out. I was going to call as soon as they left with her, but you best me to it. What are you doing back so soon?"

"I knew I couldn't rest without being here with her. Did she seem to be any worse before this happened?"

Punjab solemnly shook his head. "No, Sahib, this was completely out of the blue. I am just as puzzled as you."

Oliver nodded, his anger at Punjab diffusing as he began to pace back and forth the short length of the hallway, a million dark thoughts beginning to run through his head. Grace had a good prognosis, so why was this happening? Was she dying? Was he loosing her already, after just three short months of being together and completely, madly in love?

He ceased his pacing after a few minutes, instead going to sit down and just hope for the best.

He had no idea what was happening with Grace and had no idea when he would know.

And that thought terrified him to a point he had never before felt.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: I'm so very sorry for the evil cliffhanger I left you all with last chapter! To compensate, I give you Chapter 10, the longest one yet! I hope you enjoy.

* * *

><p>Oliver woke up sometime later to a soft tap on his shoulder. He looked up, disoriented, but quickly regained attention when he saw Dr. Hicks standing in front of him with a solemn look. His heart rate quickly sped up as he stood up, almost afraid to ask about Grace.<p>

"Is...is she dead?" He managed to ask, gulping as he did so and Dr. Hicks shook her head.

"No, Mr. Warbucks your wife is still living. We almost lost her earlier, but we managed to get her stable again. She is still comatose, though. No change in that regard,"

Oliver's breath hitched. "And...the baby?"

Dr. Hicks looked down. "I'm sorry, Mr. Warbucks, but the baby is gone. Your wife had a miscarriage earlier on. That was part of the reason why all those alarms were going off, she was bleeding due to the loss. I honestly thought we had a bit longer with the baby, but I'm afraid that's not the case."

Tears welled up in Oliver's eyes and he sat down again, letting out a defeated sigh. "Is she going to be okay? Is she going to survive?"

"I'm honestly not sure at this point, Mr. Warbucks, she lost a lot more blood than usual when she miscarried. We've given her a couple transfusions, but she still seems very, very weak. We are beginning to lose hope about her ever regaining consciousness,"

"I don't understand how this all could happen so fast, though. You said she had a good prognosis just yesterday. How could things change so drastically in such a short time?"

"These things usually don't take very long to get serious, Mr. Warbucks. We are still trying our very best to keep her alive, but I think you need to prepare yourself for the fact that she may never wake up."

"That's not fair, though. You told me very clearly that there was a good chance she would wake up and now you're taking that back? You can't give up on her. I've already lost my baby, I can't lose my wife, too."

Dr. Hicks gave a sympathetic smile. "I'm afraid that I can't control things like this, Mr. Warbucks. I know that it's hard to understand and hard news to take in and I'm very sorry that you have to go through this, but you must know we are doing everything we can."

"You can't give up on her," he repeated, knowing that he was sounding childish. "I need her to stay alive."

"I understand completely, Mr. Warbucks, and we are trying our very best. We are moving her to a room in the ICU right now so she can be monitored better. I just didn't want to paint a picture that was prettier than the reality of the situation."

Oliver let out a shaky sob. "Why?" He asked, hopeless. He didn't think he deserved this. Sure, he wasn't the nicest of people, but he hadn't exactly done anything that was too awful. He was rude to a lot of people, yes, but he had finally found happiness. Why was it being ripped away from him?

"I don't know why, Mr. Warbucks. I don't think anyone can answer that. I think right now you should go home and be with your daughters tonight. Your bodyguard is here to watch over your wife and I know you want to be with her as much as possible, but I can tell you are drained right now. Go home, Mr. Warbucks. Be with your daughters. Come back tomorrow refreshed."

Oliver simply shook his head. "I am not leaving my wife's side again, not if she could very well be dying right before our eyes. My daughters are going to be fine without me and I myself am perfectly fine. I will rest when my wife is better." He replied defiantly and Dr. Hicks softly chuckled.

"Your wife is very lucky to have you at her side, Mr. Warbucks. Very lucky indeed. I will not prod anymore, but I just want you to take care of yourself as well as Mrs. Warbucks. It won't do either of you any good if you end up exhausting yourself,"

Oliver shook his head again, knowing that what Dr. Hicks was suggesting wasn't unreasonable in the slightest, but also knowing that he wouldn't leave Grace now that the doctors were beginning to lose hope. God forbid that she did die, he would never forgive himself for not being there in her final moments.

"Just take me to her room, please," he replied softly and Dr. Hicks solemnly nodded. She began walking down a series of winding hallways, Oliver following behind as looked at all the signs for various departments in hopes to distract him from the ugly nightmare he was living in. Suddenly, they came to a stop in front of a large wash basin and Dr. Hicks turned to him.

"Since the patients in the ICU are at more risk for infections, we ask all visitors wash their hands thoroughly before they're allowed on the unit," she said, gesturing to the basin and Oliver nodded, numbly walking over and washing his hands, the unit head nurse watching him like a hawk as he did so. When the nurse, Angela, was satisfied with his hand washing abilities, they finally let him onto the unit and led him to Grace. Oliver's breath hitched when he saw her, paler than the whitest sheet in the world and wires and cables connected to her every which way.

"Oh, Grace, darling," he whispered, his heartbreak quickening when he saw just how awful she looked. He gulped when he thought about the fact he may have been staring death straight in its face. He sat down next to her, looking up at Angela.

"Is it alright if I...hold her hand?" He asked and Angela nodded.

"Of course, Mr. Warbucks," she replied, "I'll let you two have some privacy. Just holler if you need anything, anything at all," she said and Oliver nodded, turning back to Grace as he took her hand.

"Darling, if you can hear me, I want you to listen well. I'm not about to raise our daughters on my own, do you hear me? They are so very worried about you right now and I," he stopped for a moment, a sob rising up into his throat, "I'm afraid about what might happen if you pass on. They love you so, so much. I can't lose you either, darling. You've given me so much to live for. You've given me most of my success, you've given me the most beautiful little girls, and you've given me the best gift of all: you. Please don't die, Grace, please. I know that I don't deserve you, but you've accepted me and I'll spend the rest of my days honouring you in every way possible. I know that it may be hard to recover right now, so fake all the time you need, but please, whatever you do, don't die." He whispered to her, surveying her face carefully for any signs of awareness.

No luck.

He watched her small figure for a few moments, her chest lifting and falling as she took in hitchy breaths and her eyes twitching from time to time, but there was no sign of life other than that. There was no sign she knew he was there. There was no sign that she would be coming back anytime soon. At this realisation, his soft tears turned into sobs as he rested his head on her chest, feeling absolutely and completely hopeless and terrified at what the future held.

* * *

><p>The next three days were filled with hopeless waiting and small fits of confidence that were quickly knocked down. Oliver seldom left Grace's side in those three days, only leaving to use the restroom and try to stomach down some food. He was often reminded that he was staying past visiting hours, but since he had legal ties that went up to the President of the United States, he knew that they couldn't kick him out as easily as they could other patrons. He hadn't called home to check on the girls at all, but he knew that they were coping as best as possible from the updates Punjab, who went back to the mansion to get a couple hours of rest each day, was giving him. It wasn't that he didn't care about the girls, but he was so caught up in his worry for Grace that they almost didn't even cross his mind. He was afraid that if he left Grace for too long, that she would chose that moment to die and it was that fear that drove him to being by her side all hours of the day. He had vowed to himself not to leave u till she woke up.<p>

Unfortunately, there hadn't been much of a change in her condition since Sunday. She was still breathing very unevenly and she seemed to be getting weaker and weaker as each day passed. They had given her a third blood transfusion early Tuesday morning, which seemed to improve her for a couple hours, but other than that, no change. As much as Oliver hated to admit it, he, too, was beginning to lose hope that Grace would ever come back from this state.

"Sahib, Mrs.'s father is here to see you and he is none too pleased," Punjab said, peeking his head into Grace's room around three on Wednesday afternoon. Oliver looked up from where he was keeping a silent vigil and saw Robert outside in the hallway through the glass window. Oliver looked back to Grace, squeezing her hand tightly, before getting up and leaving the room.

"Robert, what are you doing here? Why aren't you with the girls?" Oliver asked, a hint of edge in his voice, once out in the hall and Robert gaped at him for a moment before replying.

"What I should be asking, Oliver, is why haven't you been home in _three days_? The girls are absolutely worried sick about both you and Grace, they barely slept last night. Is Grace really doing that bad?" Robert asked and Oliver's eyes widened when he heard all of this.

"Three days? Robert, I haven't been gone for three days. It couldn't possibly have been that long," he said, brushing the comment off as Punjab stepped into the conversation.

"Sahib, you haven't left Mrs.'s side since Sunday. It's Wednesday now," he replied and Oliver gasped at this.

"Dear lord, have I really been here that long?" He asked and both Robert and Punjab nodded. "Oh, my god, the girls must thing I'm the worst father in the world. Are they really that upset?"

Robert nodded. "Oliver, I know that you're worried about Grace to no end, and I'm more than happy to be with the girls, but they need their father right now instead of their grandfather. _You're_ the one who needs to be comforting them, and from the looks of you, you could use some rest."

"I can't leave Grace, though. What if she gets better? What if she gets worse? I have to be here for her. I'll never forgive myself if I'm not here,"

Robert shook his head firmly. "And the girls will never forgive you if you don't come home. Molly was up all night last night crying to me and to Annie, asking why you weren't home yet, and if she was going to be an orphan again. Annie's not too far from having a breakdown herself, I can tell. Those little girls are on the fringes right now and they need you to comfort them. Please, Oliver, if you won't do it for yourself, do it for them. They need you,"

Oliver was silent for a few minutes as he contemplated this, before letting out a loud, shuddering sigh. "If I leave, will you stay here with Grace?" He asked quietly.

Robert nodded. "I promise to call you if there is any change, no matter how small. Just go home, rest for a bit, and be with the girls. All will be fine,"

"Alright," Oliver relented and Robert patted him on the back.

"This is what all three of you need, Oliver. Trust me," he replied and Oliver reluctantly nodded as he went back into Grace's room. He kissed his wife on the forehead before leaving the ICU unit and going down to the entrance of the hospital where his limousine awaited. He reluctantly stepped in and let the Asp drive him back to the mansion, taking a short nap on the way. Once he arrived home, he found the girls sitting in the kitchen with a plate of cookies and milk in front of them, though neither girl looked as if they were going to actually be eating. Molly had tears in her eyes and Annie her arm draped around her sister, looking as if she was desperately trying to calm her down.

"What's this all about?" Oliver asked gruffly upon entering the room and both of the girl's heads snapped up at this, surprised to hear his voice. Molly hopped off her seat and ran towards Oliver, who gathered her into his arms in a tight hug. She began to cry harder at the contact.

"Daddy, why didn't you come home? You promised you would. You promised you'd come home, Daddy and you never did." She whispered and Oliver's heart clenched.

"I know, darling, and I'm so very sorry for that. I was just very worried about Mom and I didn't want to leave her side. I'm sorry for scaring you,"

Annie stared at her father for a moment, a look of betrayal clearly on her face. "You didn't come home for three days, Daddy. Why didn't you? Is Mom alright?"

Oliver looked at her for a moment before pulling back from his embrace with Molly and sitting down, the little girl still on her lap. "Girls, your mother's condition is getting quite serious. She's in a special unit where the doctors monitor her all around the clock and she's hooked up to a lot of machines to help her stay alive, but the doctors feel that she is only getting worse."

Both Annie and Molly gasped at this, Molly hiding her face on Oliver's shoulder as if that would protect her from the news that was coming.

"Is...is she...dying?" Annie asked quietly and Molly cupped her hands over her ears, muffled whimpers emitting from her tiny body. Oliver sighed and knew that hiding the truth wouldn't be working this time. The girls needed to know the brutal and harsh reality, no matter how much it hurt him. He slowly detached Molly from his shoulder and brushed her hair back from her forehead.

"Molly, darling, I need you to listen to me right now, alright?" He asked gently and the little girl nodded, looking up at him with her large brown eyes shining with tears. He turned back towards Annie and took a deep breath before speaking.

"I'm afraid that yes, your mother may very well be dying," he said softly, "But, I don't want the two of you to lose hope just yet. The doctors are working effortlessly to do everything they can to help Mom, but I don't want you to have unrealistic expectations, either. At this point, it is a very real possibility,"

Tears welled in Annie's eyes as she shook her head, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. "She can't be dying, Daddy, she can't. This isn't fair,"

Oliver chuckled softly at this. "I agree more than you could ever know, darling. It really isn't fair at all, but it's life. I know you girls don't understand this and honestly, neither do I, but I will do whatever I can to help you through this. I promise."

There was silence for a few minutes before Molly burst out into loud wails and hugged her father again. Oliver's heart tugged as he rubbed her back and whispered comforting words into her ears, hoping to reassure her, but to no avail. He knew that there was nothing he could say or do that would make this any better for either of the two girls. Annie sat at her chair, silently crying herself and Oliver held his free arm out to the little girl. Grateful, Annie came over and held onto it tightly, her sobs becoming louder. The three of the, stayed this way for quite awhile, intertwined in the embraces and crying together as they hoped against all hope for their fourth member to recover.

After about a good ten minutes, Oliver pulled away from the girls and smiled lightly at them. "I love you girls more than you could ever know," he said softly, wiping away their tears with his thumb. "And I'm so very sorry that things are turning out like this. I wish I could do more,"

Annie gently nodded. "I love you, too, Daddy Warbucks." She replied and Molly nodded in agreement, sniffling a little. He kisses them each atop their forehead.

"I need to go take a nap for a little while, alright? I've been up for the better part of the past three days. I promise to come and check on you before I leave for the hospital again."

"Can I come with you, Daddy?" Molly asked quietly and Oliver smiled.

"Of course, darling. I heard that you didn't sleep very well last night, either. Maybe the three of us could all use a nap," he said, picking Molly up and heading towards his and Grace's suite. He tucked the little girl in, who clutched his hand tightly as she fell asleep. Oliver watched her sleep, her little body heaving up and down with each breath and her thumb in her mouth, a small fleeting smile on his face as sat up against the headboard, alone with his thoughts once again. He hated that he had just had to tell his daughters that their mother was slowly dying. They didn't deserve this in the slightest. He had promised to the two of them a couple months back that he and Grace would be the two people they would always have in their life and now that promise was being shattered to pieces. They didn't deserve to lose the mother that they had spent countless years yearning for and Grace certainly didn't deserve to be laying in a cold, unloving, hospital bed with wires sticking out of her in every which way. He didn't care so much about himself anymore. He had been through far worse in his fifty two years. He would make it through this, but to his little girls, Grace was their everything. They trusted her more than they trusted anyone else in the entire world, including him, and he was truly afraid for what the future held for the two of them.

He softly began to stroke Molly's palm as his thoughts began to turn darker and darker. He would do anything, anything in the entire world to protect the little girl lying next to him, and the one time she really needed him to, he couldn't. No amount of money he had would be able to help Grace right now. He had so much in so many departments, but as he had told Annie right before adopting her, if he didn't have anyone to share it with, he may as well have been broke. Yes, he was so grateful to have Annie and Molly in his life, but Grace was so different from them. She was his other half, his soulmate. Somehow, be it working for him for so long or just pure intuition, she knew everything about him. She knew how he liked his steak to be cooked, how dark he liked his coffee to be, and even how soft his sheets had to be in order for him to rest peacefully. She knew him better than he knew himself. He didn't know how he would be able to go on without her.

Sighing audibly, he decided that it would only be best if he actually went to sleep as he was supposed to and laid down beside Molly, shutting his eyes and falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, beginning to dream of Grace.

* * *

><p>When he awoke a few hours later, he saw that it was already dark outside and Molly had already woken up and left the room. He felt marginally better after his rest and when he got up and touched his face, he decided he ha debater shower and shave before going back to sit with Grace. He did just that, and twenty minutes later, he was heading down the marble staircase to find his daughters. He found them in the dining room, eating a small meal of macaroni and cheese accompanies by some salmon. He smiled when he saw them and sat down in his usual spot at the table.<p>

"Daddy! Are you feeling better?" Annie asked when she noticed him and he nodded.

"I am indeed, darling. A nap is just what I needed to feel better," he replied, leaning over to kiss the op of her head. Molly smiled across the table at him.

"I slept really well, Daddy. I'm feeling a lot better now, too." She chirped up, indeed looking to be a lot more like her usual self. "Do you want to have some dinner?"

He chuckled and nodded. "Why not? I haven't had a proper meal in a few days, either," he replied, grabbing a plate and piling on some macaroni and cheese. He began to eat, forcing himself to keep the food down, as he heard the girls chatter about whatever was on their mind. He finished rather quickly, within ten or so minutes and decided that he needed to be getting back to the hospital right about then.

"Girls, I'm going to go and sit with your mother for awhile, alright? I promise to call later on before you girls go to bed." He said, getting up his seat. Annie hugged his waist and he kissed the top of her head.

"Bye, Daddy Warbucks. Give Mom a hug for me," she said and he smiled.

"I most certainly will," he replied and Molly hopped up from her seat to hug him.

"I love you, Daddy," she said softly, hugging his legs and he chuckled.

"I love you, too, sweetheart. I'll call in just a couple of hours," he replied, patting her back before turning to leave the dining room. He collected the Asp and had him drive him back to the hospital. There, he quickly went up to the third floor, the floor the ICU was on and found Robert in the family room, asleep on the couch. He smiled when he saw the man and lightly shook him awake. Robert quickly awoke, disoriented for a moment, but regaining focus quickly. He smiled sadly at Oliver when he became aware of his surroundings.

"No change, then?" Oliver asked in return and Robert shook his head.

"Unfortunately not. I keep imagining that she's moving and then I get disappointed when it's not true. I'm afraid that it was a little too much for me to be in there for too long. How are you doing?"

"I'm feeling a lot better, actually. I'm glad that I went home, it was good for me to be around the girls for s little bit snd I think that it helped them s little, as well. I just feel horrible that I had to give them such awful news," he replied and Robert nodded, sighing.

"I think they already knew, deep down, but they didn't want to believe it. They're smart girls, Oliver."

"I know. I just wish that I could have given them better odds." He shook his head. "I'd feel better if you went back to be with them. I'm better now. I feel more prepared to take on whatever's to come. Just please go be with them," he said and Robert nodded again, putting a hand on Oliver's shoulder.

"You'll call me if anything happens?" He asked, voice wavering and Oliver nodded.

"You have my word,"

Robert smiled and patted his shoulder before leaving the family room and walking towards the elevators. Oliver sighed snd flopped down in one of the chairs, not ready to go back and see Grace just yet. He needed s little more time to himself to decompress. He picked up a magazine and began to thumb through it, glad for the distraction. While he was doing this, Dr. Hicks came in and smiled when she saw him.

"Mr. Warbucks?" She asked and Oliver looked up, his heart beginning to beat rapidly when he caught glimpse of her and already preparing himself for the worst.

"She's dead, isn't she?" He asked softly, tears welling up into his eyes.

Dr. Hicks' smile grew wider, shaking her head. "She's actually awake, Mr. Warbucks. There was a miraculous turnaround in her condition about a half hour ago, her heart rate began to rise again and her blood pressure went down significantly. She just woke up a couple of minutes ago. We're not sure how, or why, but it looks like she's going to make it through."

Oliver brought a hand up to his mouth at this, not expecting to hear this about the woman who just a few seconds ago, he was sure wasn't going to make it through the next couple of days. "Are you sure?" He asked and Dr. Hicks laughed.

"Yes, Mr. Warbucks. I can positively say that she's awake. Now, the nurses are going to be running tests on her for the next fifteen or so minutes, but you can you can go on and be with her if you please."

He nodded eagerly and Dr. Hicks led him towards her room in the ICU. He gasped when he saw her, sitting up in the bed and all the colour back in her pigments.

"Grace," he said softly and her head popped up when she heard this, a smile instantly appearing onto her face.

"Oliver," she replied, her voice a bit weak, but her sweet, beautiful voice all the same. "You're here,"

He walked towards her and sat in the edge of her bed, nodding as tears trailed down his cheeks. "Of course I'm here, darling. Of course I'm here. How are you feeling?"

"A bit lightheaded, but confused mostly. What happened? What am I doing in the hospital?"

Oliver chuckled. "The train crashed, darling, on the way home from Connecticut. You've been comatose for almost five days. The doctors were just beginning to think you wouldn't ever wake up, but on, darling you did. You're here and you're perfectly fine and I couldn't be more thankful for that."

Grace smiled and leaned forward, kissing his cheek. "How are the girls? Are they alright?"

"Physically, yes, they didn't seem to be affected much by the accident, but they've been pretty upset ever since you've been in the hospital. I don't think it helped very much that I didn't come home for almost three days," he said and Grace's eyes widened.

"Oliver," she chastised softly and Oliver nodded.

"I know, I know. I was just so worried about you. I think Molly's been having the toughest time out of all of us. She was pretty much attached to me when I went home earlier on today."

Dr. Hicks watched the couple chat, a smile on her face when she saw just how much they loved each other. Before coming over to take Grace's blood pressure.

"Well, Mrs. Warbucks, you seem to have made quite the recovery. We're still not sure how, but I don't think that matters very much at the moment. I'll let you two be alone for now, but I'll be back in awhile to check on you, alright?"

Oliver looked up and nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Hicks, for everything. I really appreciate it,"

The doctor smiled and shook her head. "All I did was give her the medicine. She was the one who pulled herself through. You should be thanking her instead."

Grace chuckled a bit as Dr. Hicks left the room. Oliver turned back towards her and brought her hand up to his lips, kissing it softly,

'I'm so glad you're alright, darling, you don't even know." He said.

"I think I can imagine. I'm glad that I'm better, too. Who's been staying with the girls while you've been here?"

"Your father. He came in on the train Saturday night and he's been there every day since. It's been a tremendous help to me. They've been really worried about you," he smiled at her and the two sat in silence for a couple moments before he got up. "Will you be alright for a few minutes if I go call home?" He asked and Grace nodded, smiling to herself at his worry.

"I think I can manage for a couple minutes," she replied and he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"I love you, darling, so very much," he said softly before going out into the hallway and finding a payphone. He dialled the mansion's number and Robert picked up on the first ring.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Robert? It's Oliver." He replied and he heard Robert's breathing get heavier.

"Oh, Oliver. Did she," he gulped, "is she dead?"

"No, no, nothing like that. She's awake, actually. Would you mind bringing the girls here? I think they're going to want to see her,"

Robert chuckled on the other end. "She's awake?! That's so great. Of course. I'll bring the girls as soon as ossicle. Give her a hug for me,"

"I will," Oliver agreed, hanging up and going back to Grace. She was looking at a bowler of flowers on her bedside table when he returned. He smiled when he saw her, still not believing that she had made such a miraculous recovery in so little time. He came over and kissed her softly.

"You can never ever scare me like that again, do you hear?" He asked once they broke apart and Grace laughed, caressing his face.

"That sounds like a very good plan. I promise. No scares. Are the girls coming?"

"Yes, and something tells me they'll be very glad to see you."

"I'm going to be almost exactly the same," she replied, sighing contentedly. "It's scary, isn't it? How your perfect life can be ripped away from you in almost an instant?" She shook her head. "Who would have thought that going to Connecticut would end up with me almost dying?"

Oliver chucked at this point and nodded. "It's definitely given me a different perspective on life. I've taken so much for granted up to this point, Grace. Everything I have I've thought of as a given, it seems and I can't bring myself to think of how close I was to losing you. It scares me."

Grace took his hand and kissed it. "I'm right here, Oliver. You didn't lose me. I'm right here, alright? I'm going to be here for the rest of your life, standing by your side and raising our beautiful little girls. You aren't going to get ride of me that easily."

"Thank God for that," he replied, kissing her again. Grace smiled they broke apart.

"I'm so thankful for you," she said and he returned her grin.

"And I, much more thankful for you,"

He sat down in the chair beside her chair and stroking her hand, just to remind him that she truly was alive, he began to filled her in on all that had happened since the accident. She began to cry when she heard about the miscarriage, but quickly recovered when she realised that she very well could have died if it weren't for that. She told him that if he wanted, they could try again in the future, but she was truly happy with just having the girls for the moment. She didn't need anymore.

"You're amazing, Grace, absolutely amazing," Oliver said awhile later as they sat and waited for the girls and Robert to arrive.

"No, darling, you're amazing. I don't think anyone else I've ever known, including Edward, would sit at my bedside for three days just waiting for me to get better. I can't ever thank you enough,"

Oliver smiled and leaned in to kiss her. "I would do it all again in a heartbeat," he replied, smiling.

Suddenly, there was a commotion out in the hallway and both Oliver and Grace looked up to see Annie running int the room at record speed. The little redhead stopped short on her heels when she saw her mother up in the bed and burst into tears at the sight. Shortly after this, Molly ran into the room and much like Annie, burst into tears of her own once she saw her mother really and truly awake. Grace reached her arms out for the two girls and Annie eagerly ran over to hug her mother, but Molly stood frozen in the doorway, almost as if she was afraid to go and hug her mother. Grace caught the redhead in her arms and held onto her tightly, tears of her own beginning to well in her eyes.

"I love you so much, Mom," Annie said softly and Grace kissed the top of her head.

"I love you so much more, my sweet, sweet little girl. I'm so sorry for all you've had to go through these past few days, but I'm fine now, alright?" She pulled back from the embrace and cupped Annie's face in her hands as the little girl nodded, tears rapidly rushing down her face. Grace smiled and pulled the girl in for another brief hug. Once they had broken this embrace, Grace glanced over to Molly, who still stood in the doorway, tears rushing down her cheeks.

"Come here, baby girl," Grace said gently, motioning to the six-year-old, who began to sob harder as she came over and scrambled up onto the bed, throwing her arms around Grace in the tightest embrace she had ever given. Grace returned the hug as she let the little girl cry into her shoulder for a good couple minutes before pulling back and smiling at her daughter.

"I'm fine, baby, Mommy is perfectly fine. See? I'm right here."

"Mommy, I was so scared that you weren't ever gonna wake up. I thought you were gone forever." Molly replied quietly and Grace kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but what's important now is that I'm perfectly fine. I am not going anywhere anytime soon, alright? Don't you worry about me, love,"

Molly nodded and snuggled into her mother's side, the only sounds in the room at the moment being her sobs quieting down as Annie and Oliver watched the pair be reunited. Robert came into the room a couple minutes later holding a coup of coffee and his breath hitched when he saw Grace looking so well, all the colour in her face back and holding into her two daughters as if they were lifesavers.

"Grace, you're alright. I'm so relieved," he said, setting the cup down and crossing over towards her and kissing her forehead. She smiled up at him.

"Yes, well, from I've heard, I gave everyone quite the scare. I'm just thankful that I'm better." She replied, moving her arm from around Annie to grab onto her father's hand.

"I love you, darling," he said.

"I love you, too, Daddy," she replied, quickly squeezing his hand before wrapping her arm back around Annie and pulling her close in towards her side. She kissed the redhead's forehead and looked down towards her other daughter, who had fallen asleep and was now snoring softly, feeling safe finally back in her mother's embrace. Grace chuckled when she saw this and settled her down farther in the bed so she could rest more peacefully before turning back towards Annie to see she had fallen asleep, as well and doing the same for her. Oliver came over and kissed the top of her head, smiling widely as she saw just how happy his wife seemed to be with her daughters again. Robert whispered a goodnight to the two of them before leaving the room and Oliver showed him out before going to sit in the chair next to Grace's bed.

"I think I can finally rest peacefully, now," he whispered and Grace chuckled, nodding.

"I'm just so thankful for everything right now. I wish that nothing could ever break this moment of...pure bliss I feel right now. I just want to wrap the girls in a blanket of protection and save them for the nastiness of the world. I just want them here, in my arms, forever."

He smiled. "You're doing a wonderful job, darling," he replied, watching her lovingly. She smiled.

"Goodnight, darling. I love you so very much," she wrapped her arms tighter around the girls and fell asleep rather quickly as Oliver just watched her for what seemed like an eternity before his eyelids began to get heavy and he gave up to sleep.

At nearly six the next morning,the four of them were awoken rudely by doctors and nurses coming in to check on Grace and make sure all her levels were staying where they should be. Grace, a little annoyed at this, assured them that she felt perfectly fine, better than she had in years and she was just ready to go home. Dr. Hicks came in to the room at this request and cleared her for going home, still amazed at how quickly Grace had been able to recover. Oliver called the Asp to come and pick them up as soon as he heard that Grace would be able to go home and by eleven, they were settled in back at the mansion and ready to forget about the last five days. Much to her dismay, though, Oliver had confined Grace to rest in their suite, fearing that she would overdo it as she so often did. Annie and Molly spent most of the day with her in the suite, entertaining her with colouring books and various dolls that they had accumulated over the past couple of months, so she couldn't complain too much. She insisted on tucking them in that night and around eight thirty, when she could tell her youngest daughter was fighting to stay awake she decided to take her to get ready for bed. She dropped Annie off in her room before taking the tired little girls to her and helping her change into a nightgown. She then helped her brush her teeth and helped her up onto the large bed. Molly smiled up at her mother when she was finally under her covers and reached for her hand.

"I love you so much, Mommy. I'm so glad you're alright," she said tiredly and Grace smiled.

"I'm so glad I am, too, baby girl. I'm so very lucky to be your mother and I'm so glad that I was able to fight to stay alive so I can watch you grow up. You're an extraordinary little girl and don't you ever let anyone tell you otherwise, alright?"

Molly nodded, her eyelids drooping. Grace smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I love you so much, little girl," she whispered as she watched the girl fall asleep.

Once satisfied she was peacefully resting, Grace went across the hall to Annie's room and found the redhead already under her covers, sitting up and waiting for her mother to come in. Grace smiled when she saw the little girl waiting for her and came over to sit on the bedside.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Mom. I was really worried about you," the little girl said once Grace had sat down.

"I know you were, darling, but what's important right now is that I'm perfectly fine. I'm not going anywhere, okay? I want you to understand that,"

Annie nodded. "I do, Mom." She smiled and scooted over in the bed. "Will you sleep here with me tonight?" She asked and Grace grinned.

"Of course, sweetheart," she replied, climbing under the covers and wrapping her arm around the little girl, who very quickly fell asleep. She watched Annie's even breathing for awhile, finding it calming somehow and beautiful that she was still there to be with her daughters, despite all the hell she'd gone through the past few days. She wouldn't trade it for anything In the entire world, though. This experience had given her a new perspective and now she would definitely be taking the little things in life more seriously. Nobody knew how long they had with their loved ones. They had to make everyday count. Grace would most certainly be doing that.


	11. Chapter 11

Authors Note: First of all, Happy New Year! I hope your 2015 has started out well. Secondly, I'm soooooo sorry that it's taken me so long to post this! I've just been swamped with school starting again and I've also encountered a bit of writer's block while writing this. I think I know how I want the next few chapters to go, though, so I hope it won't take too long to get them out! I'm sorry that this one is a bit shorter than the other ones and thank you so much for all the reviews, as well! It means a lot to me!

Grace tiptoed out into the hallway as she shut Molly's bedroom door quietly, holding her breath in hopes that the little girl wouldn't stir when the door closed. Once the door was fully shut without incident, she let out a relieved sigh. Molly was finally asleep, in her own bed, for once.

It was almost two weeks to the day since Grace had been released from the hospital and those two weeks had proven to be nothing short of stressful. Molly had been practically attached to her mother's side ever since her return, barely straying a few feet away when she was playing and even begging to sleep with her parents each night. Grace knew that the little girl was quite shaken up from the accident and her mother's close encounter with death, so she was doing her very best to just keep patient and comfort Molly when needed. It was easier said then done, though, especially when each night, bedtime was greeted by tears and protests. Grace knew in her heart of hearts that Molly was afraid more than anything else, afraid of not having enough time with her mother, but it was still difficult and stressful. Today, though, Molly had been especially clingy to her and by the time bedtime rolled around, Grace had had enough and she tucked the little girl into her own bed, despite the many protests and tears that accompanied. It had taken at least an hour, maybe more, before Molly finally fell asleep and by that point, grace was more than ready for bed.

Presently, Grace began walking towards her and Oliver's suite, exhaustion washing over her like waves on a warm summer day. She opened the door and smiled when she found her husband lounging on one of the sofas in the small sitting room, eyes shut and looking about as tired as she felt. She sat down beside him and lightly tapped his knee. He opened his eyes and smiled wearily.

"Did she finally go down?" He asked quietly and she nodded.

"After about five or six bedtime stories. I feel so bad for just leaving her there tonight when she was so very obviously upset, but I'm just exhausted, almost like it's been weeks since I slept peacefully," she replied and he took her hand.

"What's important for right now is that she's asleep. We can see how she is in the morning,"

"She just seems so unlike herself lately, Oliver, and it makes my heart just break. Between her and Annie, she's the one who's been the most upset since the accident and I think it has a lot to do with her being so little. I just wish there was some way I could just get her to understand that I'm perfectly fine and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

Oliver sat up a bit and wrapped his arms around her. "She'll be fine, darling, don't you worry. We just have to work with her for a little bit," he reassured and she smiled at him, kissing him softly.

"Thank you, Oliver. I love you," she whispered and he nodded.

"I love you, too. Very much,"

She briefly kissed him again before standing up and yawning. "I think I'm going to take a bath, just to relieve myself of a little stress. Care to join me?" She asked, extending her hand out to him. Oliver shook his head.

"Not tonight, darling. I'm quite a bit tired myself," he answered, standing up and walking with her into the bedroom. He began to pull back his covers and climbed in as Grace went into the large master bathroom, undressing and beginning to draw a bath for herself. She poured in some lavender oil into it before she stopped in and let herself soak, feeling some of her stress lessening instantly. She stayed there for what seemed like too short of a time, but was actually an hour or so before she decided to get out and go to bed. After drying off and changing into her nightgown, she opened the door to find Oliver and Molly sitting on the queen sized bed, the little girl sniffling loudly as Oliver rubbed her back in circles. Grace hurriedly came over to the two of them and knelt down in front of her daughter, taking her small hands into her own.

"Whats wrong, baby girl? Are you alright?" She asked, a hint of worry in her voice and Molly simply shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks and onto her nightgown.

"What's wrong?" Grace asked again and looked up to Oliver, who smiled weakly.

"Why don't you tell Mama what you told me, darling? I think you'll feel a lot better if you tell her what's got you so upset," he said and Molly sniffled again, shaking her head.

Grace smiled warmly at her daughter, squeezing her hand. "Sweetheart, won't you please tell me what's the matter? I don't like to see you be so sad." She said gently and Molly looked between the two of them.

"Mama," she shakily said, "Why do you hate me so much?"

Grace gasped softly at this and pulled herself up onto the bed, taking the little girl into her arms. "Oh, darling, where is this coming from? Why would you ever think I'd hate you?"

"You've been being mean lately, Mama. You haven't been giving me as many hugs as usual and you made me sleep in my room all by myself tonight. Are you going to give me back?"

Grace gasped again at this, her heart breaking more and more as a large mound of guilt overcame her. She pulled Molly in closer, running her fingers across the surface of Molly's hair. "Oh, Molly, darling. I'm so sorry if that's how you feel I've been treating you. I've just been very, very tired lately and I suppose I've been taking it out on you. For that I very sincerely apologise. It wasn't very nice of me. I want you to listen to me, though, alright?" She turned the little girl towards her.

"Yeah, Mama?" Molly asked quietly, sniffling a bit.

"There is nothing, nothing in this entire world that could ever make me hate you. I may get a little irritable, and I may yell sometimes, but I couldn't ever hate you. You are my precious little girl, forever and for always. Nothing in this world could willingly take me away from you, alright?"

Molly nodded again, wrapping her arms around Grace's waist. "I love you, Mommy. I'm sorry,"

Grace stroked her hair softly. "Don't say sorry, baby girl. It's not your fault,"

Molly pulled back from the embrace and looked up towards her mother, quiet for a few moments before requesting something else. "Mama, can I sleep here again? I don't want to go back to my room tonight. It's dark and scary,"

Grace chuckled and kissed the little girl's forehead. "Only on one condition," Grace replied. "I know that you've been a little shaken up since the accident, sweetheart, and I know that you want to be with me at all times, but I think we all need to be getting back to normal soon. After tonight, I want you to sleep in your bedroom, alright? Do you think you could do that?"

Molly was quiet for a second before looking up and nodding. "Alright, Mama. I can do that," she replied confidently and Grace smiled.

"That's my brave girl," she said with a smile.

She stood with Molly in her arms and crossed over to the head of the bed, pulling the covers back and sitting against the headboard so that Molly was nestled in her arms. Grace smiled down at the six-year-old and began to sing a short, sweet lullaby that she had learned from her mother. This time, the little girl fell asleep with little trouble, feeling safe in her mother's embrace. Oliver smiled at the pair, amazed at just how quickly Grace was able to calm their daughter and send her off into a peaceful slumber.

"I couldn't say no to that face," Grace whispered, looking up at him she slowly shifted Molly into the bed. "I'll talk to her some more tomorrow."

Oliver chuckled. "She really loves you, Grace. I've never seen anyone trust anyone as much as she trusts you," he replied, climbing underneath his covers.

"I just feel horrible that she thought I hated her. I've been trying so very hard these past few months to protect her and Annie from any pain, and tonight, I hurt her more than ever. I feel like the worst mother on the planet. She didn't deserve that. She just needed me," Grace said quietly and Oliver reached over to squeeze her hand softly, smiling a bit.

"She'll be fine, darling. I'm almost positive that when she's older she won't remember this. Don't beat yourself up about it, alright? You're an amazing mother to both our little girls and I really don't think you honestly hated her, for even a second. She'll be fine," he replied.

Grace returned his smile with one of her own and leaned over to kiss him. "Thank you, Oliver. I love you,"

He gave her hand another squeeze as she settled herself down into the bed, wrapping her arm around Molly in another embrace, closing her eyes exhaustedly and finally, finally drifting off into dreamland.

The next morning was a Saturday and so, the entire Warbucks family woke leisurely since they had no obligations. Annie came into her parents' suite around eight or so and finding them and her little sister still fast asleep, decided that it was high time that they wake up. She jumped up onto the bed, careful not to hurt any of her family members.

"Wake up! It's Saturday! You've got to get up!" She crowed and Oliver slowly rolled over, opening his eyes.

"Good morning, darling." He said, still half asleep. The little redhead pulled him by his hands and helped him into a sitting position, smiling widely.

"Daddy Warbucks, it's Saturday! Don't you know what that means?" She asked excitedly and Oliver couldn't help but smile, wondering how someone could have so much energy so early in the day.

"I'm afraid I don't, my dear. Care to let me in on the secret?" He replied, softly chuckling.

"Daddy, it's the weekend! That means you and Mom don't have any work to do! We can spend the whole day together!" Annie exclaimed, as if the answer was obvious.

"Yes, that is very true," he replied, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Grace was beginning to stir. After getting used to her surroundings, she slowly detached herself from Molly's grip and sat up.

"Mom! It's the weekend! That means you and Daddy don't have any work to do! That means we can spend the whole day together!" Annie said excitedly when she did and Grace smiled, ruffling her daughters hair.

"That's a wonderful thing, darling. How long have you been up?" She asked.

Annie shrugged. "Since before the sun came up. Leaping lizards, you guys are some slowpokes!"

Grace chucked and smiled wider. "We were just tired, dear. Why don't you go on and wake your sister? I'm sure she'd like some breakfast,"

"Sounds good," Annie agreed, excitedly getting up from the bed and going towards her little sister, who had a pillow wrapped around her tiny figure in a tight embrace. The redhead started shaking her sister, but this attempt was futile as Molly was the deepest sleeper in the family and nothing short of an explosion could bring her from her rest. Grace smiled as the girl tried and tried to wake her little sister, clearly being able to see that the little girl was loop sing the little patience that she possessed. Finally, she succeeded in shaking Molly with enough force that the six-year-old awoke, startled as she began to survey her surroundings. She slowly sat up, her eyes settling on her sister.

"Annie," she groaned tiredly, "what time is it?"

"I dunno, but it's morning and it's Saturday! You've gotta get up, Molly, Mom and Daddy have no work to do today and they said we could spend the whole day with them!"

Molly sighed, grabbing her pillow again. "I'm tired, Annie. I don't wanna get up," she replied and Grace chuckled again at this, knowing that her youngest daughter was as much of a morning person as she was, which wasn't very much at all.

"I know you don't want to get up, darling, but we have the whole day in front of us. We can do whatever you girls wish. It's your day," she said gently and Molly opened her eyes again.

"Anything?" She asked, looking intrigued.

Grace smiled. "Anything," she confirmed.

"Can we go to Central Park?"

Annie's eyes lit up at this. "Oh yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun," she chimed in agreement.

"I think that is most certainly doable, darling. What do you think?" Grace looked up to Oliver, who smiled widely.

"I agree with your mother. Central Park is absolutely beautiful and I think that it would be a perfect place for us to spend this beautiful day. Why don't you girls go on downstairs and start eating while your mother and I get ready for the day," he responded and Annie bobbed her head with every word.

"Okay. C'mon, Molly," she held her hand out for her little sister, who took it and hopped off the bed. The two little girls left the room, chattering as Grace softly sighed, pulling herself out of bed.

"Molly's a smart girl," she remarked, going over to the dresser. Oliver chuckled.

"And how's that?"

"She didn't want to get up so early. She understands the value of sleep, unlike our other little ball of energy,"

Oliver came over and kissed her neck. "That ball of energy understands the value of family, my dear. It's a beautiful summer day, school starts in just over a week, and she wants to spend time with her parents. You can't blame her,"

Grace groaned. "Don't remind me about school," she said softly. "I don't want to let them go,"

"It's going to be something good for them. They need to make new friends and learn, just as much as we need to get back into a more normal work schedule. I love the girls very much, but my company is starting to suffer because I've been so focused on the family."

Grace sighed again and nodded, knowing that this all was true. "I suppose you're right. I just need to enjoy what little time we have left,"

Oliver nodded and kissed her neck one last time. "Get ready, darling. We'll meet you downstairs."

Within two or so hours, the family was all dressed and ready for going to the park. Annie and Molly were bubbling over with excitement, having been deprived of seeing New York landmarks despite living in the city all their lives and Grace was more than eager to show them what they called home. When they arrived, they went for a walk around the small lake, admiring the beautiful trees and soaking in the company of one another. As they began to circle around where they came in, Annie noticed a sign for the Central Park Zoo.

"Mom! Daddy! Can we go inside?" She asked excitedly, looking up towards them. Molly squinted at the sign, confused as to what her sister was so excited about since she couldn't yet read.

"What's it say, Annie?" She asked curiously.

"It's a sign for the zoo, darling," Grace explained, ruffling Molly's hair as she turned towards her older daughter. "And I don't see why not, Annie. The zoo is always fun,"

"Oh, Mama, I love the zoo! Let's go!" The six-year-old exulted, taking her older sister by the hand and leading her inside. Oliver and Grace exchanged an amused glance as they followed close behind. Annie grabbed a map from and began to study it.

"Mom, this zoo is so much smaller than the one we went to before Molly was adopted!" She observed and Grace nodded, taking the map.

"Yes, it sure is. You girls go on, lead the way for where you want to go. Your father and I will follow the two of you,"she said and Annie began to walk, still holding onto her little sister's hand. They walked for a little while, stopping at a couple exhibits and fawning over the animals, before they finally came to a stop in front of the girls' favourite exhibit, the gorillas. There were a few other families there, including a young couple with a baby who looked to be around six or seven months old in a stroller. Annie and Molly quickly lost interest in the gorillas when they saw the baby and instead went over to her, playing with her a bit after getting permission from her parents.

Grace watched this with a sad smile, suddenly being bombarded with thoughts of her miscarriage. She hadn't thought about it much since getting released from the hospital, not wanting to have to deal with the grief, but now, seeing how Annie and Molly took to the baby, she couldn't help but feel melancholy. It should have been their little brother or sister that they were entertaining, not some stranger's baby that they met at the zoo. It should have been her pushing that little baby in the stroller and buying clothes. It should have been her who was pregnant and who woke up at all hours of the night with crazy cravings. It wasn't fair and even though the pregnancy wasn't planned, Grace felt almost jealous that this couple had their baby alive and well. She felt tears beginning to well in her eyes and she squeezed Oliver's hand tighter, beginning to feel as if she was engulfed in some kind of cruel nightmare. Oliver looked down to her when he felt her grip on his hand get tighter and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, Grace, dear. It's alright," he said gently, "I know it hurts, but you've made it through a hell of a lot more this this."

Grace shook her head. "It hurts too much, Oliver. It just hurts too much," she said quietly and he kissed her forehead, wishing that he could take away her pain.

"What can I do right now, darling? What can I do to help?" He asked and she shook her head again.

"I can't do it, Oliver. I can't pretend everything is alright. I'm so thankful that I'm still here for the girls and for you, but, Oliver, my baby died. I was supposed to protect him or her. I was supposed to provide nutrients and nurture them, supposed to have them grow up with their older sisters. Annie and Molly should be getting excited for him or her to be born. They don't even know about their little brother or sister, and I know we did that to protect them, but I can't just forget about our baby. I'm a failure. My baby died. I wasn't able to save them." She replied

"Grace, you stop that right now. Miscarriages are so common in so many women. It has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the parent. It happens to the best mother in the world and to the worst and you, my dear, are the very best. Nothing you did or didn't do could have saved them. You couldn't have stopped that train from crashing. You can't beat yourself up about this, alright? I know it's tough, but you have me to help you through it. I meant what I said in my vows when we got married. For better or for worse. This just happens to be the 'for worse'. We'll make it through,"

Grace nodded, tears steadily falling as she fell into her husband's embrace. "I want my baby back. I don't want to have to live without them. I don't want this."

"I know, darling, I know. Maybe we should go home, call it a day? I think you could use some rest right now," he said wisely and Grace opened her eyes.

"We can't do that to the girls, Oliver, they're so excited to be here. I can't let this interfere with their happiness. I just have to suck it up,"

Oliver took her hand. "Grace, you've been holding this back for two weeks. You've spent countless nights losing sleep because of Molly, because she's been afraid of losing you. You've been keeping up with Annie's tireless energy. You deserve a break, alright? We'll go home, get you settled in, and I'll take care of the girls." He declared, and she reluctantly sighed.

"Alright," she relented and Oliver kissed her forehead again.

"I love you, Grace."

"I love you, too," she replied, wiping away the remainder of her tears while Oliver called the girls over. He told them what the plans were for now and they began walking towards the limousine. Grace leaned her head against the window, sadness beginning to cloud her mind as she aimlessly listened to whatever the girls were talking about and answering their questions when needed. When they arrived back at the mansion, Grace briefly gave each girl a hug and kiss before heading up to her large suite, changing into her comfier clothes, drawing the blinds closed and sitting in her bed to sob for the little baby that never was able to live.

She stayed that way for what seemed like an eternity to her daughters, not leaving the room for lunch, dinner nor bedtime at eight. Oliver had been going up to the suite every so often to check on his wife, but almost every time he had entered, she didn't acknowledge him or was sleeping. She asked for soup closer to dinner and he brought some up for her, but other than that, it seemed like she was deep in her grief without any signs of coming back. He tried his best to explain to the girls why she was being so distant and why they couldn't go and visit her like they desperately wanted, but that was a task easier said then done. Annie always seemed to have one more question that he had no idea how to answer and Oliver had to think about his response long and hard so that he didn't give too much away.

He was relieved when bedtime rolled around, but the relief was short lived when he remembered the troubles Molly had been giving his wife at night. As usual, Annie fell asleep with no hassle, but her little sister was a completely different story.

As soon as Oliver had announced that it was time for the little girl to go to bed, she began to throw a tantrum, screaming and crying incoherently about how she didn't want to go to sleep and how he was being so mean. It was one of the worst fits her had ever seen her throw. Granted, most of the time when she would throw a tantrum, Grace was around to calm her down. Tonight though, he knew it was important that his wife rest and that the little girl start getting back into some of her normal routines, so he did his very best to calm her down again. Just as it was beginning to work, Grace appeared in the doorway.

"I think I heard someone who's been very upset." She said softly and Oliver looked up from his perch in the edge of the bed where he was reading the little girl a bedtime story.

"You could say that," he replied, chuckling.

"Mama," molly called out, sitting up straighter and holding her arms out. Grace smiled and came over, taking the little girl into an embrace and kissing the top of her head.

"Why don't you tell me what this is all about, huh?" Grace asked gently, pulling back from the embrace and cupping the little girl's face in her hand.

"I wanted you, Mama, to tuck me in and Daddy wouldn't let me go see you. He said that I would bother you. I just wanted to sleep with you," Molly explained, sniffling and Grace smiled, smoothing her bangs away from her forehead.

"You're not a bother to me, darling, and I'm sure that Daddy didn't mean to upset you so much. I believe that we had a deal you would sleep here tonight, though, yes?"

Molly reluctantly nodded. "But, Mama," she began and Grace shook her head.

"No buts, darling. We had a deal. Now, why don't we get you all comfortable?" She suggested and Molly moved towards her covers, defeated. Grace tucked the little girl in, making sure that she was snugly under the covers.

"Goodnight, my precious little girl," she said gently, kissing her forehead. "I love you very much,"

"I love you, Mommy. I'll see you tomorrow," Molly replied, turning over onto her side and falling asleep within a couple of minutes. Grace chuckled at how fast the process went as she and Oliver left the bedroom.

"She's a mommy's girl," Oliver remarked out in the hallway. "I don't think she would have gone down as fast if it weren't for you,"

Grace smiled. "I heard her crying all the way from the bedroom. I figured that it was pretty bad." She sighed, "We really need to figure this out, Oliver. We can't keep having late nights like this, especially with school starting so soon. We have to fix this,"

Oliver nodded, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "We will, dear. We're going to figure this out together. I'm tired now, though. Let's call it a night,"


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: I am sorry it has once again taken me over a week to get this out. School has bee crazy busy lately and I need to make my grades my top priority, so writing hasn't been as much of an every night thing as it normally is. I am also sorry for the last two chapters being so short, these two and the next one will be what I call "filler" chapters, which just flesh out the story. Chapter 14 is when some of the drama will begin to pick up. Regardless, I hope you enjoy the fluff I have written here and I also am so thankful for all of he reviews so far! Much love!

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><p>Grace stared at Annie's closet door, sighing softly to herself as she saw the uniform hanging on the door, still. It was eight days later and Sunday, the last night of summer for the girls. Tomorrow, her darling girls would start school for the very first time. Annie would be a fifth grader and Molly would be a kindergartener. It was unnerving, to say the least. She was currently waiting for the girls to finish getting ready for bed and come back into the bedroom so Grace could give them one last encouraging talk, though she wasn't sure which of them needed it the most. The girls seemed to be excited beyond belief, but to say she was less than excited would be an understatement. She was downright terrified. Still, she managed to keep it together whilst the girls were around and she had been doing a fairly good time so far. She just needed to get through tonight and through the next day. After that, the hard part would be over.<p>

Presently, Annie and molly came bounding into the bedroom, each dressed in their pajamas and looking as if they were ready for bed. Grace smiled when they came in and she beckoned for them to sit on the bed before she came over and knelt down in front of them.

"Before you girls go to school tomorrow, I wanted to tell you one thing that I hope you'll keep close to your mind as you go through school, alright?" She began, her eyes darting from each of her daughter's faces. Annie smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Mama," Molly said and Grace smiled again before beginning to speak again.

"As you girls begin school and meet new friends and new people all around, I want you to be aware that some people might make fun of you because you are adopted. They might say that you're not as special as they or that you're not wanted by anyone, but I need you girls to believe me when I say that is the farthest thing from the truth, okay?"

Annie looked down at this, already being all too familiar with being made fun of for her former orphan status. Molly did the same and Grace took each of their hands.

"It is," she insisted firmly. "You girls are the most wonderful gifts that I have ever been given and I am so grateful for each and every day that we have together, even if I don't seem that way at times. Life has dealt me some bad cards, but that all changed the day I found you two. I don't want you to ever, _ever_ feel like you are less than just because you were adopted by me and Daddy. If anything, you are more special because we chose you to be our little girls. Anyone can have a baby, but you girls are special because we chose you to be ours. That is a gift that keeps on giving each day. Do you understand?"

Annie nodded again, her eyes beginning to water. She leaned forward and hugged her mother tightly. "I love you, Mom," she whispered and Grace began stroking her curls.

"I love you so much more, Annie." She replied and they embraced for a couple moments more before Grace pulled back and pulled Molly in for a hug. The little girl gratefully wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and smiled up in purely absolute love and trust.

"You're the best Mama ever," she said softly and Grace chuckled,

"Thank you, baby. Now, what do you say we get you girls to bed?" She asked now and both girls nodded, yawning in unison. Grace chuckled as she stood. Annie crawled underneath her covers and Grace came over to kiss her on the forehead.

"Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you very much. Sweet dreams. Tomorrow is a new beginning for all of us and I have a feeling it's going to be a good one,.she whispered and Annie smiled.

"I love you, Mom. See you tomorrow," She replied and Grace stood back, taking her younger daughter's hand. The smaller girl quickly said goodnight to her sister before Grace took her across the hall to her room. Molly hopped up onto the bed immediately after entering and Grace came over to tuck her in snugly and make sure that she had her favourite teddy bear nearby to combat the nightmares she so often had.

"Goodnight, baby girl. I love you so much. I hope you sleep well," she said, leaning down to kiss the top of Molly's hand. The girl smiled and squeezed her mother's hand.

"Night, Mommy. I love you," she answered softly, letting go of her mother's protective hand and turning onto her right side, cuddling the teddy bear and sticking her thumb into her mouth. Grace watched to make sure the little girl was deeply sleeping before she left the room to go downstairs and find Oliver in the office.

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><p>Hours later, Grace turned over onto her left side, sighing softly as she slowly opened her eyes again. She glanced at her alarm clock and groaned internally when she saw it was already two in the morning. She had been trying to fall asleep for what seemed like forever now and she was nowhere near closer to rest than she had been at eleven, when she first climbed into bed. In fact, she as probably quite a bit farther from sleep. Her mind had been running in circles all night long. She knew she needed to sleep so that she could wake up early the next day with the girls and it was crucial she get her rest, but that didn't seem to stop her thoughts, who seemed to have taken on a mind of their own, from going in all different directions.<p>

How could she sleep when her little girls were starting their very first day of school in just seven hours? How could she sleep when both her little girls were, even if they wouldn't admit it, scared to death at going to school for the first time? They had valid reason to be nervous, as well. It was their first time in a school setting and their first time getting any sort of formal education.

It was going to be a bit easier on Molly since she was younger, but Annie was going into the fifth grade and would have quite some catching up to do. She had gotten very limited instruction during her ten years at the orphanage and knew almost nothing that she should have known by then. Of course, her parents had been doing their best to give her as much tutoring as possible, but cramming five or six years of missed school into three months was near impossible, no matter how smart Annie was. With enough tutoring for a long enough time, she would be more than capable of doing the work, but she had missed out on so much while at the orphanage and Grace feared she just wouldn't be ready. The last thing she wanted was for Annie to feel like she wasn't as smart as the other children, when that was the farthest thing from the truth. Her peers would simply have been more accustomed to going to school since it was their normal since they had been just s bit older than Molly. It was a whole new experience for Annie, whose expertise was in cleaning orphanages and dealing with neglectful mother figures. The redhead seemed to deal well with change, though, so Grace was only hoping that would withstand as she entered school.

She was just relieved she didn't have to worry as much about the same sorts of things for Molly. Since the little girl's birthday was in June and since she'd never had any proper type of education before, Oliver and Grace decided to enroll Molly into the kindergarten program at the private school after weighing the pros and cons of it extensively. Oliver wasn't a fan of the idea when it was first brought up, fearing that since the little girl would be older than the majority of her peers, she would feel isolated, but Grace reassured him that doing this would only benefit Molly in the long run and surely she wouldn't be the only six-year-old in the class. Now, Grace was thanking herself for making that decision. It was saving her from a lot of stress about the workload and now all she had to worry about was socialisation. It was no secret to her or anyone else that Annie was a people person in the truest sense of the word. The little redhead talked to almost everyone she came across within seconds of meeting them, but Molly was the polar opposite of that, very timid towards strangers and shy even around those that she knew. Grace thought back to when she met Robert for the first time and how she seemed almost afraid of him, a stranger and it worried her that Molly would either not socialise with her classmates or she would shut herself off from the ones that talked to her. It was what worried Grace the most about the younger girl starting school. She wanted more than anything, for Molly's first day to go as well as possible. She knew how important education was and she wanted Molly to get a good first taste of school so she would want to know more.

Grace sighed again and turned over to her other side, facing Oliver now. She smiled slightly when she saw him sleeping, but wondered how he could do so as peaceful as he was, when she was next to him worried sick. She really wanted Annie and Molly to enjoy school as much as she had when she was a girl. They had seemed excited at open house on Thursday night, but she was just afraid that something would happen in the first couple of days that would give them an aversion to school. She glanced at the clock again and, seeing it was just about two thirty, decided to get out of bed for a late night snack and cup of tea. It had been her go-to sleep remedy ever since she was little and decided it was more than needed tonight. Slowly, she crept down the dimly lit hallway, careful not to wake up the girls or the staff and going down to the kitchen.

Once there, she quietly crossed over to the refrigerator and opened it to grab a slice of the leftover pumpkin pie from dinner. Once she had cut herself a slice, she went to make her favourite tea and sat down at the table, left alone with her thoughts again.

She was happy that the girls were going to be able to make new friends and learn new things, but she was also sad at how fast time was flying by. It had been barely three months since the girls had come into her life and in such little time, they had grown so much, both physically and emotionally. It seemed as if years had passed already and she was afraid if that she even blinked, the girls would be all grown up and she would have missed everything. When she was younger and her parents would comment on how fast time was passing, she would always call their bluff on if. Now, she fully understood. Soon, her little girls wouldn't be so little. Soon, her little girls would be leaving the house, going off to university, getting married. Time was passing by too quickly. In just a few years, her arms would no longer be their safe place. They would be exposed to the cruel world. They would be adults. She didn't want them to grow up, especially not since she had had so little time with them already. She wanted her babies to stay innocent, pure.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming down the hallway and looked up to find Oliver, looking half asleep. She chuckled when he came into the kitchen and sat down next to her.

"Grace, darling, what's the matter?" He whispered, wiping away tears she didn't know she had shed with his thumb. Grace gave a commiserating smile.

"I'm worried about them, Oliver. I'm worried about them starting school tomorrow. I'm afraid they're not ready," she responded, shaking her head. Oliver smiled back and took her hand.

"I figured as much," he began stroking her hair, "Why don't you tell me what's got you worried the most?"

"Annie's getting practically thrown into the fifth grade, Oliver. She's never been to school before. She's never, ever had any education aside from the tutor she's had this summer. It's going to be a whole new experience for her and I'm terrified she'll feel dumb or inadequate if she doesn't get everything as quickly."

Oliver sighed and kissed her forehead. "Annie is a very smart little girl. You know how determined she is, darling. I don't think she would let any schooling or lack thereof stop her from getting good grades. She's been doing very well these past few months. And we'll work with her if needed."

Grace nodded, wiping her tears away a bit. "But then there's Molly," she said now and Oliver smiled again.

"What about her, dear? She's only in kindergarten, darling. She's going to be fine,"

"I'm not worried about the work for her," Grace said, looking up at him sadly. "I'm just worried she won't talk to anyone tomorrow. I'm worried she'll isolate herself. I'm also worried about her being away from us, Oliver. You saw how upset she's been lately about being apart from us. What if she can't adjust to that with school?"

"She's been doing a lot better about that, sweetheart. We'll just have to work with her, too, if problem arises. She has us and she has Annie."

Grace sighed and leaned her head against Oliver's shoulder. "These past few weeks have been such a whirlwind, darling. I almost died and that's made me so much more conscious of everything we have. We have absolutely the most astounding little girls. I want them to wake up everyday, excited to go to school and be with their friends. I want them to be excited about life. I don't want them to take a single moment for granted. They deserve so much more than they've been given and I want to give them everything,"

"Oh, darling." Oliver whispered. "They are so much luckier than most girls, than most anyone in the world right now and I assure you that they appreciate it. I know that school is scary for all of us, but we have to face it, ready or not. I have a very good feeling that our little girls are ready. Alright?"

Grace nodded. "I suppose," she relented, sighing.

"It's getting late, my dear. We really should be getting to bed. We have quite the day ahead of us," he said and Grace sighed again, nodding.

"I'm tired. Let's go to sleep," she replied and he nodded. The two of them got up from the table and went up to their suite. Once there, the two of them re-prepared themselves for bed and crawled underneath their covers, finally ready for sleep.

"I love you, Grace. Tomorrow will go just fine. Our little girls will be fine," Oliver whispered into the dark room and Grace squeezed his hand tightly underneath the covers.

"I love you, too, Oliver. I know they will. Thank you for talking me down," she replied and he kissed her forehead.

"Anything for you, my dear. Anything for you." He gave her hand one more squeeze before turning over onto his side and promptly falling asleep. Grace smiled when she heard his snores and finally, five hours after initially getting into bed, fell asleep.

* * *

><p>She awoke later than she had intended the next morning, something that occurred no doubt because of how very little sleep she had gotten. Altogether, she got around five hours of sleep after going to bed at three and waking up at seven. When she finally pulled herself out of bed, Oliver was already awake and ready for the day and she hastily got herself together before going downstairs to make sure the girls were eating and more prepared for the day than she was at that point. Luckily, Oliver had managed to wake both girls, get them dressed, and had them begin eating the strawberry pancakes Mrs. Pugh had made just for the occasion.<p>

"Good morning, my darlings," Grace said cheerily as the came into the dining room and kissed her both daughters atop the head.

Annie craned her neck upwards and smiled. "Morning, Mom! How did you sleep?"

Grace sat next to her. "Not very well, darling. Took me awhile to fall asleep last night, so I was up fairly late and didn't get enough sleep as I should've. How did you sleep?"

"Pretty good. I had nice dreams,"

Grace ruffled her hair. "That's good, Annie. What about you, sweetie? How did you sleep?" Grace looked over to Molly, who was deep in her pancakes.

After a few moments of silence, the little girl looked up when she realised the question was directed towards her. "I didn't sleep so good, Mama. I kept waking up and not being able to go back to sleep," she said softly, her eyes becoming downcast.

"I'm sorry, darling. Why didn't you come get Daddy or I? I'm sure we could have helped you," Grace said, kissing the top of her head again. Insomnia had been a recurring problem for the little girl, one that she and Oliver had intended to get checked out before school began, but just hadn't gotten around to.

Molly shrugged. "I dunno,"

Grace chuckled at her nonchalance. "Are you girls excited for the day ahead of you? School is a very fun thing," she said. Annie's eyes lit up.

"I'm so excited, Mom! I can't wait to make new friends and learn new things and everything!" She said, beginning to talk a mile a minute.

"That's good, darling. I hope you'll enjoy school just as much as I did when I was your age. There's something magical about learning new things, it seems to me. It just makes everything seem right in the world."

"I'm really excited too, Mama. Maybe I could become president one day, just like Mr. Roosevelt!" Molly said now and Grace turned back towards her, smiling.

"I think you'd make the most lovely president, darling. I'm sure you could make this country a whole lot nicer for all of the citizens,"

Molly beamed at this and she and Annie finished up the rest of their pancakes before heading upstairs to brush their hair and teeth. Oliver came into the room shortly after this as he had been on an early morning call (for him, at least) with the Prime Minister of England. He smiled when she saw his wife, sipping tea as she glanced at the paper and ate her breakfast.

"Good morning, my love," he said, coming towards her and kissing her neck gingerly.

"Good morning, Oliver. Thank you for letting me sleep in a little," she said, looking up from the paper and kissing him on the lips. "The girls seem to be excited about school this morning. Maybe things'll go better than I thought they would."

"I'm very hopeful that they will. Do you want to go up and make sure they're just about ready? We should be leaving no later than fifteen minutes from now,"

Grace nodded and took one last bite of her pancakes before she went into the kitchen to put her and the girl's dishes in the sink. Once done with that, she went up to the girls' bedrooms. She found Annie in her adjoining bathroom, already dressed in her uniform and now playing with her mop of curly hair.

"Oh, Annie. You look beautiful," Grace said softly when she caught glimpse of the little redhead. Annie looked up and smiled her mother, going over to hug her.

"Thanks, Mom. Are we leaving soon?" She asked, practically bouncing up and down with such excitement that Grace couldn't help but chuckle heartily.

"Very soon, darling. Why don't you go outside and wait with Daddy while I make go and sure Molly's ready?"

"Okay, Mom," Annie agreed and she went downstairs, two at a time as she hummed excitedly to herself. Grace chuckled again and went into Molly's bedroom to find the little girl standing in front of her full length mirror, holding a red hair ribbon and looking confused about how to tie it in to her ponytail.

"Do you want some help, sweetie?" Grace asked after watching the little girl try to figure it out for a couple moments, but only succeeding in frustrating herself.

Molly looked up and nodded. "Why is it so hard, Mommy?" She asked and Grace chuckled again as she began tying to ribbon in to Molly's ponytail.

"It's not really that hard once you've gotten the hang of how to do it, darling. I've had practice in tying ribbons for years. It will come naturally soon," Grace knelt down in front of the little girl and smiled, tears beginning to brim in her eyes at how grown up the six-year-old looked.

"Mama, don't cry. Why are you sad?" Molly asked now, confused and Grace quickly wiped away her tears as she smiled at her daughter. She took her small hands.

"I'm just sad that you're growing up, darling. I want you to remember what I told you and Annie last night today at school. You are quite the extraordinary little girl and you shouldn't let anyone tell you or treat you any differently, all right?"

Molly smiled and nodded, kissing her mother's cheek. "I love you so much, Mommy. You're the bestest Mommy in the entire world."

Grace smiled and hugged the little girl before pulling back from the embrace. "Thank you, sweetheart. That means a lot to me. Now, what do you say we go on and take you to your first day of kindergarten? You have a fun day ahead of you,"

Molly nodded excitedly and grabbed her school knapsack from the corner in the room as she extended her hand for Grace, who happily complied. The little girl took her mother downstairs and outside to the front of the house, where the DuPont was parked, patiently waiting for the last two members of the Warbucks clan. After they had climbed inside, Oliver had the Asp drive them to the girl,s private school thirteen miles away. Upon arrival, Oliver instructed the Asp to park and they took Annie to her fifth grade classroom first since it was closer to the parking lot than Molly's classroom was.

"Have a good first day at school, aright, darling? I want you to learn lots and make new friends. Do you think you could do that?" Grace asked as she knelt down in front of the redhead, who nodded.

"I can do that, Mom," she reassured as she hugged her mother. "I love you. I'll see you later," she said. Grace smiled and nodded, standing up. Oliver said his goodbye to the little girl now and soon, Annie was walking inside of her class for the very first time.

Grace lingered for a few moment, just watching Annie as best as she could, before her husband reminded her they had one more little girl to drop off. The three of them walked towards Molly's kindergarten class and were greeted by the sight of many children outside the room when they arrived, saying tearful goodbyes to their parents, some for the very first time. Anxiety immediately began to rise in Grace at the sight of this, knowing that the little girl's reaction could very well and probably would be the same. Grace sighed as she put on her brave face, turning towards Molly and smiling widely.

"All right, baby, do you think you're ready?" She asked and Molly glanced at the classroom anxiously.

"You're coming inside, too, right Mama?"she asked softly and Grace was silent for a moment at this loaded question before she took Molly by the hand and shook her head gently.

"No, sweetheart, I'm not. Kindergarten is for you to go to right now, not for me. I've already been, many years ago, but I promise that Mama will come for you at the end of the day, right when school lets out,"

Tears began to well in the little girl's eyes. "But, Mama, if you don't come in, I won't know anyone. I'll be all alone," she said sadly. Grace smiled.

"That's not true, darling. All of your other classmates will likely be in the same boat as you, they probably won't know anyone inside. It will be easier for you to make new friends that way,"

"But, Mama, you're leaving me," Molly said, dumbfounded at this revelation. "Why are you leaving me?"

Grace smiled. "I am not leaving you, baby girl. I'm always with you, even if I'm not physically with you. I know that it seems a bit scary, but it's only for a few hours and I bet that you'll be having so much fun that you won't even notice that I'm not around,"

Molly shook her head now, sadness turning to raging fear at the thought of being without her mother or anyone familiar, for that matter. "Mama, can't I go home with you and Daddy? I don't think I wanna go to kindergarten anymore,"

Grace shook her head again. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you have to go. You just need to get through this first day, darling, alright? After today, everything will seem much brighter,"

Molly shook her head again now. "I don't wanna go," she repeated and Grace sighed, the very reaction she didn't want from either of the girls today unexpected coming to bite her in the butt. Molly threw herself into her mother's arms now, beginning to shake with sobs. Grace simply rubbed her back as she looked up to her husband, whose worry and concern was clear on his face. He hadn't the slightest idea what to do. Luckily, just as Grace was about to give in to the upset girl and take her home, a teacher's assistant came over, knowing what was happening simply by glancing their way.

"Hi, my name is Ms. Daniels, I'm a teacher's assistant. It looks like you have a case of the 'I-don't-wanna-go's'," she observed, looking at Molly who was currently crying on Grace's shoulder.

"Tell me about it. That's Molly," Oliver replied and Ms. Daniels smiled, kneeling down beside his wife.

"Molly, my name is Ms. Daniels. It's very nice to meet you," she said gently and Molly lifted her head from Grace's shoulder, intrigued.

"I understand that going to school all by yourself, without knowing anyone, is a very scary thing to do. I know that you'd feel better if your parents were with you today, but maybe you'd feel better if I was with you instead, since they can't come into the classroom? She asked and Molly quietly mulled this over for a bit, before she softly nodded.

"Okay," she mumbled. "I guess so,"

"Great. I bet you're going to have a great day today, Molly. There are a lot of other little girls in your class who I think you'll get along just fine with. Do you want to come in and meet them?"

Molly glanced up to her parents, beginning to feel apprehensive again. Grace and Oliver smiled at her and silently encouraged her to do just that. Luckily, this time the encouragement worked and Molly was standing up, moving away from Grace and walking into the classroom. Grace smiled at this and called out that she would be back at the end of the day before standing up and leaning into Oliver's welcoming embrace. They stood outside the door for a few minutes, watching Molly, at the encouragement of Ms. Daniels, meet some of her classmates.

"Our baby is growing up so quickly, darling. Before we know it, she's going to be all grown and doing the same exact thing with her little girl or her little boy," Grace remarked softly. Oliver chuckled.

"Don't say that, Grace. I don't want to think of her getting any bigger than she is right now. We should just live in the now," he answered, kissing the top of her head. "Come on, let's go home and get started on work. We should enjoy the peace an


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! I wanted to get it out today so I have my Tuesday posting schedule back on track! Thank you all for the continued support! I appreciate it a lot! Enjoy!

* * *

><p>All of September and most of October passed by fairly quickly for the Warbucks family. Oliver and Grace were busy with work, finally being able to get their work done without getting interrupted by the girls every half hour or so. As for the girls, their days were filled with their schoolwork, homework when they (very rarely) had it and playing with one another before having to go to bed and doing it all the next day. Aside from Molly's tearful start on the first day, things were going fairly well for both her and Annie. Grace's fears were not realised for either of them, since Annie was breezing through her work and Molly had more friends than she could count on one hand. Of course, there were small hiccups with both of them and either Grace or Oliver had to step in, but more often than not, things were sorted out within a matter of a few minutes. For now, it seemed the girls were thriving in their new life and routines, which made Grace happy and relieved.<p>

Work was going pretty well for Oliver and Grace, too. Now that they didn't have the girls to worry about for the majority of the day, they were a lot more productive and Oliver had even gotten permission for opening another of his factories, in Grace's hometown, no less. Oliver had immediately called Robert after hearing this news and had offered him a position as manager of the construction, to which the man took to heartily. Unfortunately, this meant Oliver was going away for more business trips than he would have liked, just to make sure things were running smoothly, but the girls nor Grace seemed none the worse for wear at his small absences.

Before any of them knew it, Grace found herself in the midst of planning Annie's eleventh birthday party. She was simply dumbfounded at how fast the past few months had flown by. It seemed like just yesterday to her that she had first seen the little redhead in Miss Hannigan's office closer and now here they were, having gone through more than their fair share of rough times since then. She was just glad they had all found a stable ground for the moment. Now, Grace was determined to give Annie a birthday party to remember for years to come. She was fairly certain that the little girl had never before celebrated her birthday and so, what better way to celebrate this one than with a large party? Annie had made lots of friends since the beginning of the school year, so she was excited to invite them over for a birthday party/sleepover. The little girl's birthday this year landed on a Thursday, so Grace and Oliver decided to have the party the next day, on Friday, so the girls could sleep over without worrying about staying up too late and being too tired the next day. It was all working out fairly nice, if you asked her. The only thing she was worried about was Molly interfering with her sister's celebration since she was a good deal younger than all the other guests would be. She and Oliver had debated whether or not to let the little girl invite one of her friends over, as well, but shot the idea down quickly. Grace wanted Annie to have her special day be _her_ special day and hers alone. Molly was normally well-behaved, though, so she was only hoping that pattern would keep up for the party.

Presently, Grace sat at her desk in the study, going over some paperwork for the new factory in Connecticut while Oliver was on the phone with President Roosevelt. It was the night before Annie's official birthday and she was stressed, to say the least. Oliver had gotten a call earlier that afternoon from Robert, who was overseeing the construction of the factory, and it sounded as if things weren't going as smoothly as they should have been. Robert had reported to Oliver that some of the employees requested him to come down to Connecticut this weekend, which would be more than inconvenient for Grace since Annie's birthday guests weren't scheduled to leave the mansion until almost two in the afternoon on Saturday. Oliver would be leaving after the girls went to bed on Friday so he could be there bright and early Saturday morning, which would leave Grace with ten or so girls to look after for five or six hours. Of course, the staff would be there to help her out, as well, but the situation was less than ideal in whole.

Now, Grace heard Oliver let out a long, loud sigh as he put his head in his hands. "What should I do?" She heard him say, although it was muffled.

She sighed as she shook her head. "If the factory needs you to be there, it needs you to be there. There's not much we can do," she replied softly.

Oliver looked up. "I feel awful leaving you here with the girls this weekend, though. Especially since it's Annie's birthday. I know I made a commitment to the factory, but my family is my first priority."

Grace smiled. "I know, dear, but I'm sure everything will be fine. The staff will be here to help out and I'm hoping the girls will sleep in fairly late. We should just enjoy tomorrow with the girls, since Annie will more than likely be preoccupied with her friends on Friday."

Oliver came over and sat next to his wife, taking her hand and kissing lit lightly. "I can't believe our little girl's going to be eleven tomorrow. It's simply insane." He chuckled, shaking his head. Grace smiled wider.

"She's a really good kid, Oliver. I hope her birthday will be everything she imagines it will. She deserves to have the best day," she replied.

He kissed her on the cheek. "I'm sure that she'll be happy with whatever we give her, regardless of it being fancy or not. You've seen how excited she's been all month. I think she's going to enjoy her party."

Grace smiled. "I'm just going to go on and tuck them in. It's getting late," she said, getting up and leaving the study. She went up and tucked Molly in first and then went across the hall to Annie's bedroom. She knocked lightly on the door and opened it to find the redhead sitting up in bed, reading a book.

"Annie, darling, it's getting late. I think you should be getting to sleep." Grace said gently as she came in and sat on the edge of the bed. Annie looked up and smiled a bit.

"Sorry, Mom. My book was getting good," she replied as she put it on her nightstand, face up. Grace chuckled as she leaned over to kiss the little girl on the forehead.

"Sleep well, sweetheart. I love you very much. Happy birthday," she whispered. Annie smiled.

"Goodnight, Mom. I love you. Thanks for adopting," she replied as she reached up to hug her mother. Grace was caught off guard by this as she simply shook her head.

"No, darling. Thank you for being the best little girl I could ever ask for. You and your sister are gifts that nothing could ever top. You are so very special to me,"

Annie smiled and kissed her mother's cheek. "I love you," she repeated and Grace let go of the embrace.

"I love you, too, darling. Sweet dreams," she pulled the covers up around Annie and watched the little girl fall asleep, smiling widely. After doing that, she went back down to the office to find Oliver looking stressed and as busy as ever. When he heard the office door close, though, he looked up and smiled.

"Are they asleep?" He asked quietly and she nodded.

"Both sleeping like little angels. I'm getting quite a bit tired myself. Do you think you're going to be up awhile still or should I wait up for you?"

Oliver glanced at his watch. "I think you'd better go on and get to sleep, darling. I'm trying my best to do as much work for the factory from here so I don't have to leave this weekend, but it doesn't look like that's going to to be helping much,"

Grace came over and began rubbing his shoulders. "Don't stress yourself out, Oliver. If it doesn't happen' we'll manage. We've done it before and we'll do it again,"

Oliver sighed and nodded, looking up. "I'm sorry, darling."

Grace kissed him on the lips. "Don't apologise. It comes with the territory of marrying a successful business man," she chuckled, "I love you. Goodnight,"

"Goodnight, darling. I'll see you tomorrow morning," he kissed her again before she got up and went upstairs to her bedroom. There, she changed into her nightclothes and crawled into her bed, falling asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, knowing that she needed as much rest as she could possible get. These next few days were going to be long.

* * *

><p>The next morning, much to her dismay, a very excited little redhead came bounding into their suite much earlier than any of them needed to be awake.<p>

"Mom! Daddy! It's my birthday! Wake up! It's my birthday!" Annie exclaimed in a loud whisper as she hopped up onto the mattress, shaking the whole bed as she did so. Grace jolted up at this, not expecting to be woken up so early or so abruptly. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes for a few moments before focusing on Annie, who she could tell, even in the dark room, was grinning from ear to ear.

"Happy birthday, darling. What time is it?" She asked softly, amazed at how Oliver could still be asleep given the small hurricane that just swept through their room.

Annie shrugged. "I dunno. Early, I think. Not all of the staff is awake yet," she replied and Grace glanced over to the clock on her bedside table. It read four-fifty-eight A.M. She sighed and turned back to the little girl, who looked as if she was about to explode with excitement.

"Annie, darling, it's not even five in the morning yet. It's very, very early and I think it would do both of us good if we went back to sleep for another couple of hours,"

Annie pouted. "But, Mom, it's my birthday!" She protested and Grace couldn't help but chuckle at her poor sense of timing. She ruffled Annie's hair.

"I know you're very excited, sweetheart, but I would really like to sleep a little more. We can celebrate when everyone wakes up, can't we?" She reasoned and Annie pouted for another couple of minutes.

"I guess," she finally relented.

Grace chuckled and moved over a bit, creating a spot in between her and Oliver. "Come, darling, why don't you climb in with us? Maybe you'll be able to sleep a little bit more," she suggested and Annie quickly nodded, crawling into the spot. She snuggled into Grace's side and quickly fell back asleep, much to her mother's relief.

They woke up again, this time for real, at exactly seven. Oliver was already up and ready for the day when they awoke and Grace sent Annie to her room to get dressed while she did the same. Once done, Grace went downstairs to the dining room to find Oliver and Molly already eating the breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon. Molly smiled widely when she walked in and hopped up from her seat to run and hug her.

"Morning, Mommy! It's Annie's birthday!" The little girl exclaimed excitedly as Grace picked her up and kissed her cheek.

"Yes, darling, it is. How did you sleep?"

"Really good, Mama. I had really good dreams and I didn't wake up at all." She smiled. "Can I go back and eat now? I'm hungry."

Grace chuckled and kissed the top of her head before setting her down on the ground. "Go ahead, darling."

She went to sit down next to Oliver and began to serve herself just as Annie walked into the room, dressed in her school uniform and smiling widely. Molly once again got out of her seat and ran over to the redhead, throwing her arms around her waist excitedly.

"Happy birthday, Annie!" She said and Annie laughed.

"Thanks, Molly." She replied, ruffling her little sister's hair. Molly left the embrace and skipped back to her seat as Oliver rose from his seat to hug Annie.

"Good morning, darling. Happy birthday," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"Thank you, Daddy Warbucks," Annie said, smiling as she gave him a quick hug. Grace came out of the kitchen with a stack of pancakes for Annie.

"For the birthday girl," she said, smiling. Annie gratefully took the plate and went to sit down to her little sister, beginning to eat as she listened her parents discuss work and the problems with the factory.

"Mom, will you drive us to school today?" Annie asked once her parents seemed to be done with their conversation. Grace smiled widely.

"I would love to drive you, sweetheart. You girls should go and finish getting ready, though. We have to leave soon," she replied and Annie and Molly both nodded, each taking one last bite of their pancakes before heading upstairs to finish getting ready.

"Do you know what time your daughter came into our room this morning?" Grace asked once they had left and Oliver looked up at her, intrigued.

"I'm afraid I don't, darling. Was it early?"

Grace chuckled. "You could say that. Is four fifty eight early?"

Oliver smiled. "So, I guess she really was excited," he shook his head. "

"I don't know how you couldn't have heard her. She was fairly insistent on making her entrance as loud as could be. At least, that's how I interpreted it."

Oliver gave an amused smile. "Just be glad you were able to get her back to sleep, dear. It could be a lot worse. You could have been up for hours by now,"

Grace nodded. "I suppose. I just wish she was more like Molly with the early mornings. At least our younger daughter understands that early mornings shouldn't be a thing,"

Oliver kissed her cheek. "Shouldn't you go on and get ready?" He asked.

"Trying to get rid of me, are you?" She teased as she stood up reluctantly. "I suppose I should get up, though. I've got quite a day ahead of me and it isn't even eight yet. I still have so much to plan for the party tomorrow,"

She sighed and stared at the staircase for a couple moments before going upstairs and deciding that she had to face the day whether she liked it or not.

* * *

><p>The next thirty six hours went by in a whirlwind as Grace, Oliver, and the mansion staff began to prepare for Annie's birthday party. On Thursday, Grace spent over two hours of the day on the phone with different services confirming their arrival and payments. Once done with that, she went down Annie's guest list and called the people on it to make sure they were coming of they hadn't already R.S.V.P'd. That wasn't to mention the hour of the day she had to carve out to help Molly with her homework and the dinner she and Oliver had decided to take Annie out to. Luckily the girls went to bed earlier than usual Thursday night since they had been worn out during the day.<p>

It was currently three on Friday afternoon and Grace was pacing in the front hallway, anxiously waiting for the girls to get home from school. The party was starting in just under an hour and she still had to get them bathed, dressed, and ready for the party. Oliver was packing for his trip to Connecticut while she got them ready and then the four of them would help Annie greet her guests and direct them to the backyard where the party was being held. Just as Grace was about to go ballistic, the girls came in the door, each chattering excitedly. Molly ran to her mother when she saw her, holding a piece of paper in her hand.

"Mama, look! I drew a picture for you today!" She exclaimed and held the paper out to Grace. "It's of you and me and Daddy and Annie!"

Grace looked at the paper and held in a chuckle at the little girl's representation of the family, which was just a bunch of poorly drawn lines that didn't resemble people in any which way. Still, she decided to humour the little girl and ruffled her hair.

"It's beautiful, sweetheart. I'll cherish it forever." She said, smiling down at her. "What do you say we get you girls ready for the party?"

Annie nodded excitedly. "All my friends are so excited to sleep over!" She said and Grace smiled.

"Well, then, we should definitely get you girls ready," she took each of her daughter's by the hand and led them up to their respective rooms. She left the two of them to get changed into the dresses that were laid out on their beds while she went back to her and Oliver's room to get ready. Once done, she checked in on Annie and finding the redhead just about ready, went to check in on Molly who seemed to be doing just about the same as her sister. Satisfied at the progress, she went downstairs and out onto the terrace to find Oliver dressed in a white tuxedo, just as he had been the night Annie was adopted. He wrapped his arm around his wife's waist when she came into his view.

"You look beautiful this afternoon, my dear. Of course, that's no different from how you look everyday, but today exceptionally so," he said.

Grace could feel herself blush as she kissed his cheek. "Thank you, darling. What time is it?"

Oliver glanced at his watch. "Five minutes to four. I think this is going to be a good party, don't you? Annie was almost bubbling over with excitement this morning,"

Grace nodded and smiled up at him. "I'm glad that we can give her a party this year. I hoop she and her friends have a good time."

He kissed the top of her head. "I'm sure they will." He replied and kissed her lightly. They heard a giggle and an in unison "eww" from behind them and turned around to find their daughters pretending to gag. Grace chuckled as she pulled away from her embrace.

"There's nothing wrong with your parents showing their affection for one another, girls.. She said amusedly and Annie giggled again.

"It's gross," she replied, giving a grimace.

"You think that now, my dear, but I promise that you won't in just a few years time. Now, are you girls ready?" She turned to both the little girls and smiled at the sight of them in matching red and pink dresses.

"I sure am!" Annie exclaimed and Molly nodded in agreement.

"Is it time for the party?"

Grace glanced at her watch and nodded. "Yes, darling, it is. Your friends should be arriving anytime now," she replied and began walking towards the front door.

Annie went up to the window pane and peered out, seeing dozens and dozens of cars beginning to pull in front of the mansion. Little girls began to walk up towards the mansion, holding gift boxes of all different shapes and sizes. Annie rushed to the door and began to greet her friends as Oliver and Grace watched, matching smiles upon their faces. Once the stream of guests arriving had trickled down considerably, Annie came up to her parents with all her friends by her side.

"Mom, Daddy, come meet my friends! This is Lisa and Jane and Charlotte and Rebecca and Sarah and Julia." She beckoned to each one of the girls as she said their names and Oliver and Grace chuckled as they greeted them all.

"It's very nice to meet you girls. I'm glad you could come, Annie is really excited to have you over. I hope you all enjoy yourselves," Grace said, smiling. "Annie, why don't you show everyone where all the activities are?" She said and Annie nodded.

"Come on, guys," she said as she began walking towards the backyard. She stopped after taking a couple of steps when she noticed her little sister was looking sad at not being invited to join Annie and her friends. The redhead smiled and held out a hand to the little girl. "Come on, Molly," she said and Molly immediately brightened as she took Annie's extended hand. The group of girls began walking again and Oliver smiled down at Grace once they had left.

"I think that was very nice of her, don't you think?" He commented and Grace smiled back.

"I agree. I'm glad that Annie's including Molly in her birthday," she kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I suppose we should be good hosts and greet everyone, shouldn't we?"

Oliver looked visibly pained at this and Grace chuckled.

"Come on, darling. How bad can it be?" She asked and he simply groaned in return, which caused her to chuckle again. "We'll do it together. It can't be that bad,"

"Fine," he finally said and she kissed his cheek.

* * *

><p>The first few hours of the party went by fairly uneventfully. Annie and her friends ran around the mansion grounds for awhile before they began to eat some of the candy that was laid out. Mrs. Pugh made a dinner of hot dogs and fries, which was served around six, just as the sun was beginning to set. Once everyone had eaten, the large strawberry cake was brought out as well as the pile of presents Annie had accumulated. Oliver, Grace and Molly stood by the guest of honour as she blew out her candles, ate her cake and began to open her presents, squealing excitedly as she opened each one.<p>

"Mama, how come Annie is getting so much?" Molly whispered rather loudly, tugging at her mother's blouse she watched her sister open another one of her presents.

Grace looked to the little girl and smiled as she held her in her arms. "It's her birthday, dear. That's what happens when you have a birthday, you get presents."

"But ,Mama, where are _my_ presents?" The little girl insisted, beginning to get louder. Grace looked around at the guests, hoping nobody was paying attention. Luckily, all the guests were smiling as they watched Annie open her presents.

"You'll get some when it's your birthday, darling, but that's not today. It's Annie's birthday today, so she gets the presents." Grace said softly, smoothing Molly's face away from her forehead.

"I want presents! Why does Annie get everything?" The little girl asked again, her voice raising another octave. This time, a few heads turned to look at the little girl, whose face looked as if it was to crumple up into tears at any moment. Grace began to soothingly stroke her hair, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't have a meltdown on today of all days.

"Shh, darling. Be quiet. Annie's getting presents because it's her birthday party. Your birthday isn't until June and then you'll be getting just as many presents as Annie is getting right now. It won't be that long before your party comes around,"

"No! It's not fair!" Molly exclaimed loudly and now each of the guests surrounding the table, including Annie herself, looked up to see Molly beginning to kick, scream, and flail in Grace's arms.

"Molly, darling, you need to calm down," Grace calmly whispered into her daughter's ear, but this had little effect on the tantrum that was well underway. Molly continued kicking and screaming and Annie's face grew just about as red as her curls, completely mortified at the behaviour her sister was displaying.

Grace looked just as mortified as she set Molly down on the ground and knelt down to her eye level. "Molly, you need to calm down right now or you're going inside for the rest of the party. You are being very disrespectful to your sister. I'm sorry that you feel like this is unfair, but that doesn't change the way that birthdays work. It's your choice. You can calm down and everything can go back to normal or you can come back inside with me and Daddy and miss out on the rest of the fun."

Molly simply shook her head, angry tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "It's not fair! It's not fair!" She repeated and now Annie got up from her chair, anger clear on her face.

"Why do you have to ruin _everything_?!" She yelled and Grace looked up at this sudden outburst, completely shocked at how angry she was.

"Annie," she chided softly and Annie shook her head.

"No, it's true! She ruins _everything_! I can't even have my own birthday party without her ruining something! I can't invite my friends over without her ruining everything! Everything is about _Molly_, all the time, even when it's supposed to be for _me_!" She said and Grace gasped, getting up from where she was knelt down in front of Molly and going towards her angry older daughter.

"Oh, Annie, darling. I'm so sorry you feel that way. I truly am." She replied. Annie just crossed her arms, tears steadily streaming down her cheeks.

"Why does she ruin everything?" She repeated, a bit softer now and Grace glanced out of the corner of her eye to see Oliver carrying Molly, who was still screaming about it being unfair, into the mansion. She tucked a few of Annie's astray curls behind her ear and smiled weakly.

"I don't think she intended to ruin anything, sweetheart, but I think you need to keep in mind that she's still very little. I'm very sorry that she had a tantrum right now and I'm very sorry that she ruined your birthday. Daddy and I will have a long talk with her later on tonight, but I just want you to know that everything you said is very true and I'm sorry if you feel Daddy and I pay more attention to Molly than to you. We'll work hard to be better at that, alright? Right now, I just want you to focus on your party. We'll keep Molly out of your hair tonight. Do you think you can do that for me?"

Annie nodded and hugged her mother tightly. "I'm sorry," she whispered and Grace shook her head.

"It's alright, sweetheart. Everyone gets angry and sometimes it's warranted. Tonight, I think you had a very good reason to be upset with your sister. I'm just sorry it happened to be on your birthday," she replied and Annie pulled back from the embrace, smiling wearily.

Grace stood up. "Enjoy the rest of your party, darling. Daddy and I are going to go talk to Molly, alright? We'll make sure she stays out of your way for the rest of tonight."

Annie nodded and looked at the unopened presents that lay on the table, deciding to wait to open them later on and instead going to play with her friends. Grace watched her go off, smiling, before she went inside the mansion. She found Oliver and Molly in the study, the little girl's face buried in the sofa as she continued to cry and pound her fists against the cushions. Oliver looked absolutely exhausted and Grace let out a sigh before she knelt down beside the little girl.

"Molly, I think that we need to have a serious talk." Grace said sternly and Molly lifted her face from the sofa, her face tear stained. She sat up slowly.

"Do you understand what you just did outside was not only extremely disrespectful to Annie, but also very embarrassing to me and to Daddy?" Grace continued and Molly shook her head, biting her lip.

"Well, Molly, it was very rude to Annie and it embarrassed your father and I quite a bit. I understand that you were upset that you weren't getting any presents like Annie was, but that's how birthdays work. When it's her birthday, she will get the presents and when it's yours, you'll get the presents. The way you acted outside was extremely uncalled for and while I'm sure you didn't meant to do it to be mean to your sister, that's how it came cross to her. There are going to be some consequences, too. You're going to have to stay inside while the party lasts and you're not allowed to join your sister and her friends in the sleepover later on tonight. Do you understand? " She asked and Molly looked as if she was about to protest this punishment for a moment before she relented and nodded.

"Mama, are you going to send me back?" She asked apprehensively and Grace smiled a bit, shaking her head.

"Of course not, darling. Daddy and I may be a little mad at you right now, but that doesn't change the way we love you in the slightest. You're only human and we all make mistakes. I still love you just as much as I did before and I'll never send you back."

Molly smiled slightly at this. "I'm sorry, Mama." She said softly and Grace's kissed her forehead.

"Just don't ever let it happen again, alright?" She replied, sitting up on the sofa. Molly nodded and held her arms out for Grace, wanting to be held. Grace smiled and took the little girl into her arms, beginning to rock her back and forth. She could tell the little girl was tired, either from the party or from crying so much, but the soothing motion of Grace's rocking quickly lulled the six-year-old to sleep. Grace watched Molly sleep, a small smile on her face as she turned back to Oliver.

"On the one hand, I want to be mad at her because she threw such a large tantrum, but on the other, I have to remember that she's only six," she whispered softly and Oliver nodded, reaching to take Grace's free hand.

"Poor Annie, though. I think she's going to be upset with Molly for awhile, which is understandable. I just wish we could've prevented this from happening,"

Grace chuckled. "The only way we could have done that would be to get Molly presents, too, which wouldn't be fair to Annie or teach Molly a lesson about sharing. I just hope Annie enjoys the rest of her party. I'll talk to her again in the morning, just to make sure she really understands what she did wrong." She shifted Molly a bit in her arms, standing up. "I'd better get this little one to bed. Why don't you go back outside and check on Annie? I should be out in ten or so minutes,"

Oliver nodded and stood up, as well, planting a kiss on his wife's forehead and then his daughter's. "Good luck getting her to bed without waking her up," he whispered and Grace chuckled again.

"I'll need it," she replied.

* * *

><p>Author's Note 2: You're probably confused about why you're getting another notification for chapter thirteen, so I will explain. I reuploaded the chapter because I wasn't happy with the original ending, so here is round two! I hope you enjoy this version just as much as the other one and I would also like to give recognition to my friend Markaleen for helping me with this chapter. If you haven't, go check out her story! It's really good!.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

Grace awoke the next morning to the sound of birds chirping outside her window, much to her annoyance. She groaned when she heard this, feeling absolutely exhausted even though she hadn't gone to sleep any later than usually did the night before. She rolled over onto her side and became a little confused when she felt Oliver's side of the bed cold. It was very rare that she wake up and he wasn't next to her, but after a few moments, she remembered that he had left for Connecticut shortly after Grace had put Molly to bed. She slowly opened her eyes, realising that she had twelve girls in total to look after until two and that it would be best if she wake up. She almost had a heart attack when she realised it was already nine thirty in the morning and hastily began to get dressed and ready for the day. Getting dressed in record time for her, she went down to the parlour where Annie and her friends had fallen asleep after building a fortress of pillows and blankets. To her relief, though, all eleven of the girls were still fast asleep. Not that she had expected them to be otherwise. She retired around midnight, but she expected they were up for a couple hours more as they'd had quite a lot of sugar at the party between the cake, cupcakes, and candy.

After watching the girls sleep for a while, smile upon her face, Grace went into the kitchen and found Mrs. Pugh bustling about making breakfast for the girls when they awoke.

"Good morning, Mrs. Pugh," Grace said, smiling at the cook, who smiled at her in return.

"Good morning, Grace. I trust you slept well," she replied and Grace smiled at the fact that Mrs. Pugh still called her "Grace" instead of "Mrs. Warbucks". Oliver was still "Mr. Warbucks" to her and the rest of the staff, but Grace was very called "Mrs. Warbucks" by them, which she appreciated. She had worked with them for over six years before she married Oliver and it would just feel wrong to her if she was suddenly superior to them just because she had gotten married.

"I did, indeed. I barely remember falling asleep. I'm sorry for sleeping in so late." She said and the cook simply shook her head as she handed Grace a bowl of oatmeal.

"Don't apologise, dear. You must have had a long night with all those little girls running around. I think you were more than due for some extra sleep, especially with Mr. Warbucks being gone now."

Grace huckled and nodded. "Do you know is Molly is awake yet? Annie and her friends are still asleep, but Molly went to bed early last night, so I'm sure she's probably up by now,"

"She is," Mrs. Pugh replied, nodding. "She woke up around eight and came into the kitchen, saying that she was hungry. I gave her some oatmeal and I think she's playing outside in the gardens now,"

Grace smiled. "Thank you for taking care of her this morning. I don't know why I was so tired last night, but I needed the sleep."

Mrs. Pugh smiled again. "It's no trouble, dear. That little girl has quite the imagination. It's interesting to hear what she comes up with,"

Grace chuckled. "Yes, she does have a large imagination," she agreed, beginning to eat her oatmeal. The two women chatted while Grace ate, talking about things as mundane as Annie's birthday to Oliver's work. Just as Grace was nearly finished with her breakfast, she and the rest of the staff around heard the chattering of excited little girls outside in the hallway. Sure enough, within a couple of moments, Annie and her friends burst into the room, each talking a mile a minute.

"Good morning, darling," Grace said, smiling at Annie as she came towards her.

"Morning, Mom. How did you sleep?" Annie replied, smiling widely back at her mother.

"I slept fairly well, actually. I was able to sleep in later than I usually do, and I think that helped me quite a bit. What about you?"

"I dunno, Mom. I was really tired last night, I barely remember falling asleep. I didn't wake up until just now," the redhead replied. "What's for breakfast?"

Grace chuckled at this question. "I believe Mrs. Pugh is making pancakes for you girls. It should be ready any moment now. How late were you all up?"

The girls each glanced an amused look between one another as they suppressed giggles. "I think maybe two or three in the morning, Mrs. Warbucks," one of the girls, Rebecca, answered. "It was late."

Grace's eyes widened at this and she smiled. "Well, as long as you girls had a good time. I suppose that's all that matters." She rose from her seat now that she had finished her oatmeal. "I'll leave you girls to eat breakfast in peace. Just call for me if you need anything, all right?" She directed this last line towards Annie, who nodded eagerly.

"All right, Mom." She agreed and Grace kissed the top of her head before heading into the kitchen to put away her dirty bowl. Once done with this, she went outside in search of her younger daughter. She found the little girl, still clad in her pajamas from the previous night, swinging absentmindedly on one of the swing sets Oliver had bought for her and Annie.

"Mama!" She exclaimed excitedly when she saw Grace walking towards her, scrambling off the swing to run to her mother. Grace smiled at how happy she was as she picked her up and kissed her forehead.

"Good morning, sweetheart. How are you today?"

"Bored. It's really hard being quiet all morning, Mama. Mrs. Pugh said that I had to be quiet because everyone was asleep, but I don't like being quiet."

Grace chuckled, knowing this all too well. "I'm sorry, darling. It sounds like it must have been very hard for you," she replied, sympathetically and Molly bobbed her head in agreement.

"It was," she said.

"Well, I don't think you have to worry about that anymore. Everyone is awake now," Grace smiled wider at the little girl. "Now, why don't you tell me why you're still in your pajamas? It's almost ten in the morning,"

Molly simply shrugged. "They're soft, Mama. I don't wanna change,"

"Well, I think you should go inside and change, anyways. Maybe another day you could stay in your pajamas, but not today,"

Molly pouted slightly. "Aw, Mama. That's not fun!" She complained.

"Somehow I think you'll live, sweetheart. Come on, why don't we go inside?" She set Molly down and took the little girl by the hand, leading her towards the mansion. They went inside and up to Molly's room so that the little girl could change into some more appropriate clothes for the day.

"Molly, I want to talk to you a little bit more about last night," Grace said softly once her daughter had changed into a light purple jumper. Molly sat on her bed, trying to read her mother's face as a knot formed in her stomach, fearing she would be reprimanded again.

"Are you still mad at me, Mama?" She asked softly and Grace smiled warmly.

"I'm not mad anymore, sweetheart, but I want to make sure that you understand why Daddy and I punished you last night and why you couldn't be apart of Annie's party."

"Because I got mad at Annie for getting so many presents, right?"

"Well, that's part of the reason why, yes. But also because you were very disrespectful to her while she was opening the presents, darling. It was her party last night and it wasn't the right time or place to throw such a large tantrum like you did."

Molly's eyes became downcast. "Annie said I ruined everything last night, Mama. I think she hates me now," she said sadly and Grace smiled, shaking her head.

"I don't think Annie has it in her to hate anyone, sweetheart, especially not you. You and her so very close to each other. I think she's probably going to be mad for a little while, but I don't think she could or she will ever hate you."

Molly sniffled. "She seemed so mad last night, Mama. She's never been mad at me before. I've seen her mad at Pepper plenty, but never me."

Grace pulled the little girl in close to her. "I'm afraid that this is all just a part of life, my dear. You and Annie will fight sometimes, just like your father and I will fight sometimes. It doesn't mean that you love each other any less, though. When you're older your sister will be the most important person in the world to you,"

"I don't to fight with Annie, though. I don't want her being mad at me,"

Grace ruffled her hair. "I think she might be a little less mad at you if your apologised to her, sweetie. I think she was very hurt last night."

"Can I do that right now?"

"Sure, sweetheart. Perhaps she'll let you play with her and her fiends,"

Molly smiled at this possibility and she hopped off the bed, taking Grace's hand into her own. The little girl led her mother downstairs to where Annie and her friends were still eating breakfast in the dining room. Grace smiled down at the little girl when they arrived.

"Go on, darling," she whispered and Molly let go of Grace's hand, walking over towards her sister's chair. She tapped Annie's shoulder and the redhead turned around, startled.

"Annie, I'm sorry for making you mad last night," the younger of the two girls said, so quiet that it was almost inaudible. Annie smiled slightly at this.

"It's alright, Molly. I'm over it," she replied briskly, turning back towards her friends. Molly stood behind her sister for a few moments more, not quite believing that her apology had actually been accepted and debating whether or not to say something more. Seeing this, Grace came over and took the little girl by the hand, not wanting to take the chance that another blowup between the two of them would occur.

"Mama, do you think Annie's still mad at me?" Molly asked quietly once the two were a safe distance away from the dining room. Grace smiled weakly.

"She said that it was fine, didn't she? She's probably just tired, sweetheart.. Grace smoothed some of Molly's hair back. "Why don't you play for a little while so I can get a bit of work done?"

Molly nodded reluctantly. "I guess so, Mama." She replied softly and Grace kissed her forehead.

"I'll be in the office if you need anything, alright?"

"Alright, Mama," she replied and began to head up the staircase. Grace watched her go, smiling, before she headed towards the study. She had some work to finish that she hadn't been able to the previous day and thought no better time like the present to do so.

She wasn't able to get much work done, though, for her mind kept going in circles as she thought about the how tense Annie seemed when Molly apologised to her. Of course, she knew that the redhead had more than a valid reason to be upset with her little sister, but she also knew that Molly sincerely felt sorry for her behaviour the night before and she didn't want the problem to be dragged out longer than needed. Especially with Oliver out of town, she didn't exactly want to deal with the girls bickering. Annie had seemed to recover pretty quickly the night before once Molly had been brought inside, but Grace was worried the little girl would act hostile towards her sister still. At least she would be able to prepare herself for the storm that was brewing, since Annie's friends weren't to leave until two. She would do what was needed to be done.

* * *

><p>By ten thirty that night, Grace felt like an emotional wreck. The last of Annie's friends had left the mansion at two fifteen and ever since then, she had been battling both her daughters and their emotions. Annie made it no secret that she was still angry with her little sister and had been giving Molly the silent treatment all afternoon, much to Grace's dismay and Molly's disappointment. The six-year-old had been trailing behind her sister all afternoon, giving her puppy dog eyes and almost begging for forgiveness. Naturally, this annoyed Annie to no end and she ended up exploding at sister shortly before dinner, which resulted in a silent and awkward meal for the three of them. After they had eaten, Annie locked herself in her bedroom and Molly had taken it upon herself to camp outside the bedroom door, diligently asking for forgiveness. Grace had to hand it to her younger daughter for her persistence, but the repercussions of Annie's annoyance came pouring down on her when Molly began to cry about Annie not accepting her numerous apologies. Grace tried her best to reassure the girl that Annie wouldn't be angry for long, but the little girl didn't seem to believe her. Luckily for her, both girls went to sleep around nine with very little trouble.<p>

Now, she was trying her best to get some work done, but her mind was just too fried. She was exhausted, absolutely exhausted, and she wanted nothing more than to have Oliver with her. She missed him more than she thought humanly possible. She missed everything about him, the way he smelled, the way he embraced her when they slept and the way he made her feel like the most important person in the world to him. She wanted him there tonight to cuddle with and have him help her with the girls. She wanted her partner, her soulmate, her other half. She just wanted him. She finally gave up trying to be productive around eleven and went up to her suite, thinking that maybe things would seem brighter in the morning. Once she changed into he nightgown, she was about to try and turn in for the night, but instead she found herself staring at the photo she had of Oliver on her nightstand for longer than she would have liked to admit. Her heart physically hurt for him and she decided that maybe calling him would make her feel a bit better. She dialled the number for Oliver's hotel room and to her surprise, he picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?" He asked and Grace simply burst into tears at the sound of his voice. Upon hearing this, he immediately knew who it was on the other end. "Grace? Darling, what's wrong?" He asked softly.

"I miss you so much, Oliver. The girls have been bickering all day and I'm so very tired. Annie is still mad at Molly for last night, which I completely understand, but Molly will just not let it go. She's been following Annie around all day. I'm so exhausted and I miss you so much," she said, knowing that she was beginning to ramble, though she didn't care.

"I'm so sorry, darling. I wish I could be there with you. I think things should be wrapping up tomorrow and I promise that I'll be home as soon as I can. I'm sorry about the girls, I know how stressful they can be to handle on a normal day. I can't imagine what you've been handling today. I miss you, too. So, so much. It's so hard being away from you."

Grace sniffled as she wiped her tears with her sleeve. "Come home soon, Oliver. Please," she said softly.

"I promise that I will, alright? I miss you more than you could ever know."

"I love you,"

"I love you, too, darling. I'll be home soon. Just hold out for another day, I know you can do it. The girls will make up eventually, you shouldn't stress yourself out too much over it. "

Grace nodded, but then realised that Oliver couldn't see her. "I'll try not to," she replied. "I better go to sleep now, darling. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I certainly hope so. I love you, Grace. It's good to hear your voice,"

"It's good to hear yours, too. Goodnight, Oliver."

"Goodnight, my love." Oliver said softly and soon, the phone line went dead. Grace smiled to herself as she pulled back her covers, feeling so lucky in that moment to have a husband as great as Oliver.

* * *

><p>The next few weeks seemed to simply fly by and soon, it was mid-November. Luckily, aside from the explosion on Annie's birthday, Annie and Molly seemed to be getting along just as well as they usually did. Annie recovered within a couple days from her anger at Molly for what happened on her birthday and except for a few silly, insignificant, fights, things were just as they always had been. School took up most of their and Annie often asked to go over to her friends houses on the weekends, which Grace and Oliver were more than happy to oblige with. They were glad that Annie seemed to have so many friends at her side, friends who they hoped she would keep for a long time. There was a small drawback with Annie being away so often, though. Molly seemed to be terribly lonely when her sister was gone, either moping around the mansion while she waited for her to come back or joining her parents in the office while they worked, which both of them knew couldn't be fun for her in the slightest. Grace had been encourage the little girl to invite one of her friends over to the mansion, but even though whenever the topic was brought up, Molly seemed excited about it, nothing ever came out of it. Parent-teacher conferences had happened in late October, right before Annie's birthday, and when Grace and Oliver had met with Molly's teacher, she reported to the two of them that Molly was by far the shyest child in the class. Ever since then, Grace had been noticing more and more how outgoing Annie was, but how very little Molly seemed to talk about her friends at school. The only friends she did ever talk about was one little girl, Lorelei and an imaginary friend, Nicole, that had only popped up in the past few weeks. Grace was growing increasing worried about her younger daughter, afraid that she would isolate herself from all of her classmates. She seemed to be so well off at the beginning of the school year, coming home almost every single afternoon with different anecdotes about what she had done that day. Now, there was almost none of that and Grace was puzzled as to what had happened. She had meant to sit the little girl down and talk to her about it, but she always got distracted one way or another.<p>

"What are we going to do about Molly?" Grace asked one rainy Monday afternoon as she and Oliver were working in the study, surrounded by piles and mounds of paperwork.

Oliver looked up from the document he was working on, confused look on his face. "What about her, darling?"

Grace sighed. "Haven't you noticed how little she's been talking about school lately? She rarely talks about any of her friends besides this Lorelei and now her imaginary friend, Nicole. I'm really worried about her, Oliver. I'm afraid that something's happening at school and she won't tell us,"

Oliver chuckled. "Grace, darling, I think you worry far too much for your own good. Just because Molly doesn't talk all the time about her friends at school doesn't mean that something's going on. Yes, I agree that she's a bit of an introvert, but there's nothing wrong with that, is there? She's only in kindergarten this year, Grace, she has the rest of her school career to make friends,"

Grace sighed and nodded. "I suppose that make sense," she agreed reluctantly, "but I just want to make sure she knows that she can come to us with anything.

Oliver came over to his wife and leaned down, kissing her softy. "I'll talk to her later on tonight if it would make you feel better." He whispered and she smiled.

"It would," she replied and he kissed her once more.

"Consider it done, then."

He walked back towards his desk once again when there was a knock at the door to the office. He groaned softly and called for whoever it was to come in, not really wanting to deal with anyone at the moment. Drake appeared in the doorway and at his side was Mrs. Dunn, the new owner of the Hudson Street Hime for Girls.

"Mr. and Mrs. Warbucks, you have a visitor," he said and Oliver nodded.

"Come on in, Mrs. Dunn. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked, rising from his seat and shaking the elderly woman's hand. Mrs. Dunn smiled as she sat down across from him on one of the study's sofas.

"I have some confidential business to discuss with the two of you, actually. I hope I'm not interrupting anything too important," she replied and Oliver shook his head.

"Of course not." He said, "What's this all about?"

"Well, the other day a young woman by the name of Juliet Kingsley came to the orphanage with the intention of seeing your daughter, Molly. When I informed her that she had been adopted in July, she then told me that she is Molly's maternal aunt, her mother's sister."

Grace's eyes widened considerably at this and she came over to sit down next to her husband. "Are you sure that she's who she says she is? After everything that happened with Annie being kidnapped this summer, that night in the bridge, I can't afford to take any risks."

Mrs. Dunn opened a manila envelope and handed two documents to Oliver and Grace. "These are Molly's parents death certificates. Miss Kingsley brought them over yesterday when I told her that she would have to provide some proof of relation to Molly in order for me to speak to the two of you. She also brought a copy of Molly's birth certificate, which matched up perfectly with the one we had on file. It looks like she is who she says she is. She wants to meet with the two of you,"

Grace looked over the death certificate, her eyes darting back and forth as a knot began to form in her stomach. "What does she want from us?" She asked softly.

"I'm not sure. I think she may want to work out some sort of custody agreement for Molly. I'm fairly sure she intended to start the adoption process with her the other day."

"No," Grace immediately replied upon hearing this, shaking her head. "Absolutely not. I will not meet with her. Molly is our daughter now and I will not share her, nor will I put her or my family through the emotional stress of a custody agreement."

"Grace," Oliver chastised softly, stroking her hand softly. "Perhaps we should talk to her before we make any decisions. We have no idea what she wants."

Grace looked sharply up at him in disbelief. "Does it matter what she wants, Oliver? Molly is our daughter now and she has been for almost five months. She's finally just getting used to being here. She's finally able to sleep through the night without a nightmare. I will not risk that. I won't,"

Mrs. Dunn reached over to take Grace's hand. "I understand your reluctance, Mrs. Warbucks, I truly do. I know that you are Molly's mother now and that you want to do what's best for her wellbeing, but I think that you should at least talk to Miss Kingsley. She seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. I'm sure she'll understand whatever the two of you decide." She stood up, leaving the envelope laid out on the coffee table. "It was good seeing the two of you. I'll just show myself out, I'm sure you have a lot to think about."

Oliver smiled and stood up, walking Mrs. Dunn to the door and shutting it softly behind her. Once she was gone, he went back to his wife, whose face had gone paler than he had ever seen it before, even when she had been in the hospital. He sat down beside her and she immediately reached for his hand, squeezing it tightly. He began stroking it softly.

"I don't want Molly to have anything to do with that woman, Oliver. I honestly don't care if she's her aunt. She's our daughter now and this Kingsley woman hasn't got a leg to stand on as far as Molly's concerned,"

"Grace, I think we should at least see what she has to say. I agree that a custody agreement would only cause undue harm to all of us, but maybe that isn't the route she wants to go on. Perhaps she just wants to make sure that Molly truly is happy and safe where she is. She is her aunt, after all."

Grace shook her head. "If she wanted to adopt Molly, she should have done it long ago. She knew that Molly was in the orphanage and she should have been working as hard and as fast as possible to make sure Molly was able to have a warm home, like the one she has now. She didn't do that, well at least not quick enough, and now she feels like she's entitled to be in Molly's life."

"Grace, you know that's not fair. Not everyone is as well off as we are, especially not in this economy. We are very fortunate to be able to give the girls so much. I'm sure that Miss Kingsley either thought Molly would be better off at the orphanage or she didn't expect for it to take so long to be able to adopt Molly. Whatever the reason, you can't judge her without knowing her story."

Grace looked up to him, her eyes a bit misty. "Oliver, our baby was in that orphanage for almost three years before we found her. She was forced to clean all hours of the day, fed food that even prison inmates shouldn't have to be fed, and she was, for lack of a better word, abused. Do you not see how emotionally traumatised she is by that? I'm just thankful Annie was there to help her through it." She sighed, "Oliver, I can't help but feel some sort of resentment towards this woman, who could have prevented all that if she had worked just a little harder to be able to provide for Molly."

"But, Grace. We wouldn't have her in our life at all if things had turned out like that. We would have no idea of Molly's existence. I honestly wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. Yes, she's had a hard time in her short life, but we are here for her now. I don't think she would be happy with anyone else as her parents. There's a reason that things turned out like they did, Grace. You've got to believe that after everything we've been through together."

Grace nodded. "I just can't help but think of all those cold, lonely nights she spent in the orphanage. Alone. Without anyone to turn to for comfort, except for Annie." She leaned her head against his shoulder, "She's my baby, Oliver. I don't want anything to happen to her. I want to protect her from this cruel world we live in for as long as possible."

Oliver began running his fingers through her hairs. "All we would be doing is meeting with her, Grace. Nothing else, and if we don't like what she has to say, we can leave. I honestly think that this will be good for us. Perhaps we'll be able to gain some insight to Molly's life before she went to the orphanage, figure out why she's like she is today,"

Grace sighed and he could feel her nod against his shoulder. "I guess so." She said softly after a couple of moments. "I'll let you call Mrs. Dunn to schedule the meeting," she sat up straighter and he smiled at her, wiping away some of her tears.

"Everything's going to be alright, darling? We've been through so much since Annie came to the mansion. This is just another chapter in our book. It's inly going to make us that much more stronger, as a couple and as parents." He leaned down to kiss her. "I love you, Grace."

Grace smiled and kissed him back, deeper this time as her way of saying "I love you" back. They stayed this way for awhile, kissing deeper and deeper before they were interrupted by a knock at the door again, this time it being Punjab saying he was going to pick up the girls.

* * *

><p>Oliver was up late that night, his mind being the one that was going in circles for once. He had tried so hard to be brave for Grace earlier that afternoon when Mrs. Dunn had come to visit, but to be honest, he was just as terrified as she was. He knew rationally that there was nothing Juliet could do to shake the foundation of their family, but he couldn't help but feel intimated. Juliet had a blood connection to their little girl and he knew that sometimes, the court system would take that in favour of who had been raising her for the past few months. Of course he was simply jumping to conclusions at that point. He didn't even know what it was that Juliet wanted, but that didn't stop him. Molly had only been in his life for such a short time and he loved her so much that it made his heart hurt sometimes. He felt that way with both the girls, but he felt like he had more of a bond with Annie than he did Molly. The younger of the two girls seemed to prefer Grace over him and he had been trying his best to be more of a comfort to her when she needed it, but he was still new to this parenting thing. His heart had softened considerably with their arrival, but Grace always seemed to know exactly what to say at exactly the right time. It was Grace that Molly always asked for when she had a nightmare or when she was upset. He could count on one hand the number of times he had been the one to comfort her. Grace always tried to reassure him that the bond between the father and daughter would take some time, but he just felt like he was failing. He didn't doubt for a moment whether Molly loved him or not, but it was the amount of how much love she had for him that he was doubting. He wanted Molly to look at him with the same unconditional love and trust that she seemed to have for Grace. He wanted the little girl to know that she was safe with him, that he would do anything in the entire world to make sure she was happy.<p>

He sighed and shifted over in the bed, deciding that it would be best if he tried to get some sleep in tonight. Just as he was about to drift off, though, he heard a faint cry from down the hall and knew at once that it was Molly waking up from a nightmare. He looked over to his wife, who was still in a deep sleep and sat up, wanting to be the one who comforted his little girl tonight. He slowly got up from the bed and left the room, softly walking down the hall until he was just outside Molly's bedroom door. He opened it gingerly and found the little girl sitting up against her headboard, her arms clutching her teddy bear for dear life. He came over and sat down on the edge of the bed, Molly looking up when she felt the weight of the bed shift.

"Shh, darling, it's alright. Did you have a bad dream?" He asked softly and Molly nodded slowly, crawling over her covers so she was beside him. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

"You and Mama died, Daddy. It was the accident again, and this time, both you and Mama were in the hospital and Annie and I were orphans again. I don't want you to die," she said, lisping a bit like she did when she was upset. Oliver's eyes softened as he pulled the little girl into his lap.

"I know that death is something that scares you a lot, darling. I think it's something that scares all of us, but I promise you that Mama and I will be around for a very long time. We both love you so very much, Molly. We would do anything for you,"

Molly smiled a bit, looking up at him as she curled up in his lap. "Daddy, will you stay with me tonight?" She asked sleepily and Oliver wrapped his arm tight around her.

"Of course, sweetheart. You go back to sleep, alright? Daddy's here. Daddy won't leave you," he whispered and Molly nodded slightly, grabbing his hand tightly as she closed her eyes again. He smiled once he heard her breathing even out, knowing that she was fully asleep again and he stood up, going back towards the head of Molly's bed. He pulled back the covers and propped a pillow up against the headboard, fully intending to stay there with the little girl just as he had promised. He sat against the pillow and smiled down at his sleeping daughter, wakefulness giving way to sleep, for he was peaceful for the first time in hours. His little girl was safe in his arms, right where she belonged.


End file.
